Year One: The Department of Mysteries
by Christopher Rain
Summary: Sean Miller and Julius Virdo are ordinary first years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, starting just years after the famous Second Wizarding War. But a plot that could upturn the entire Ministry surfaces, dragging them unwillingly in.
1. The Sorting Hat

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_A/N: This is being co-written with Novelisto, so he gets just as much story credit. It's simply on my profile. Any reviews will be accepted kindly, and will likely be answered personally by me or by Novelisto._

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"Hurry along, Sean, you don't want to be late — the Hogwarts Express certainly won't wait up for you." Mrs. Miller hurried her children along in a neat fashion, pulling ahead the younger kids that weren't pulling trolleys full of luggage and cages with pets.

Sean gulped. It was five until eleven already; the Hogwarts Express, he knew, left exactly at eleven o'clock, no earlier, no later. What would everyone say at school if they heard that a kid had missed the train — Sean wasn't even sure he'd get to go to school at that point. He lugged his trolley along, while his small, new owl, yet to be named, hooted wildly in its cage, trying to flutter about.

"Shut that ruddy owl up!" said Sean's mother as she pulled to a stop next to the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten. "He's drawing the attention of Muggles!" she said hoarsely. Surely enough, almost every person that walked by was staring at the owl or them while they could, unsure of what to make of the unconventional family.

"Sorry, Mum," Sean muttered. He threw his jacket on top of the cage — this seemed to shut her up for once.

"All right, you first, Brooke," said Mrs. Miller decisively, referring to Sean's older sister. "Hurry along, but try not to draw attention, will you?"

"Right, Mum." Brooke casually sidled up to the barrier that separated them from the seemingly nonexistent Platform Nine and Three Quarters. If Sean hadn't been on it before, he wouldn't have believed it was there at all. Brooke, when no Muggles were paying notice, easily slid her trolley through the barrier without drawing too much attention to herself. Then, when the coast seemed clear, she leaned against it, nonchalantly falling through.

"All right, Sean, dear, you're next — just do what your sister did."

"I know, Mum," Sean replied.

"Don't you get smart with me, Sean Michael."

"All right, Mum, don't worry." Sean casually walked on up, and, when he was sure no non-Wizarding eyes were upon him, he copied his sister.

The view on the other side of the barrier was just as Sean had remembered it from last year as he watched his siblings depart — crowded with the late stragglers trying to hurry on, as well as mothers and fathers bidding their children good-bye for the year.

Sean turned back to the barrier as his mother and younger sister walked through. "Hurry along, dear. You don't want to miss it," said his mother, ushering Reagan, his other sister, along with her. "I suspect Brooke's already found her spot. Hurry up."

Sure enough, the train let off a warning whistle. Sean didn't need much more motivation. He rushed through the crowd, weaving in and out when necessary to avoid bumping into someone and having an accident. Finally, after what seemed like too long, Sean reached the long scarlet train. The train blew another warning whistle, and Sean hurried to push his things onto the train, his sister, having appeared in the doorway, helping him along. The train was already moving as Sean jumped onto it, his mother standing on the platform wishing him well. "Get plenty of rest! Bathe regularly! And write as often as possible, would you?"

Sean frowned. It was weird leaving his mother for so long — ten months, unless he went home for the holidays. That was certainly a long time indeed. Behind him, his sister was waving good-bye and smiling and promising to write as soon as possible the next day, but Sean wasn't taking any of it in. He did notice his little sister almost in tears, which Sean knew was because she wasn't going to be going to Hogwarts for years.

Finally, after what seemed like a long time, she wasn't in his sight anymore. They had rounded a curve, and she was gone.

"We better find you a compartment 'fore it's too late, bud," said Brooke. Sean stood there for a moment, looking out the now closed door at the landscape as it rolled past. After a few seconds, he turned to follow Brooke, hauling his trunk behind him.

As Sean followed his sister silently down the corridor, he glanced in the window of each little room. Inside each compartment, for the most part, was at least a couple students — rarely did Sean see one that had only one occupant. But none of them were empty. After a few cars, his sister stopped, impeding Sean from going any further. "I'm gonna leave you here, Bro. Think you can manage on your own from here?" Sean nodded vigorously. "'Kay. I'll see you at the school." She turned and entered a compartment to her left, and the door soon closed, closely followed by a raucous of high-pitched squeals of happiness. Sean, however, moved on.

He soon reached the end of the train, and to his dismay, there were no empty compartments in sight. Sean turned to head back — hopefully he'd find an empty compartment that he'd missed on the way back. But before he took a step, he noticed the compartment to his right was empty save for one boy that Sean figured was a first year too, right about his age. So instead of walking toward the front of the train once more, Sean turned and opened the compartment door.

The boy didn't look up when Sean opened the door—he was deeply immersed in a large book. "Uh —" Sean paused, giving the boy time to look up. "H-hello."

"Hi," said the boy, still not inviting him in.

"Um, well . . . is —?" Sean paused again. "D'you mind if I sit in here?"

"Oh," the boy said. "Yeah. Yeah, sure, go ahead!" He seemed almost excited at the prospect of company in his compartment.

Sean dragged his trunk into the compartment and swung it carefully up onto the luggage rack, sitting down once he'd secured it up there. "Thanks. Didn't think I'd find anywhere — there's a bunch of people on this train, aren't there?"

"Yeah. Must be hundreds." The boy looked at Sean for a moment, and then looked back down at his book.

Sean didn't know what he should say, so he didn't say anything. He instead turned to his trunk, standing up. He rummaged inside, looking for something to do to pass the time. There wasn't much he could find that would satisfy, so he ended up pulling out _The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1_ by Miranda Goshawk — a little reading couldn't hurt.

He opened the front cover and sat back down, reading the introduction. Before he could reach the third paragraph, however, he was interrupted.

"Are you reading that, too?" the boy sitting across from him asked excitedly. "I'm reading it now" — he held the book in his hands up for Sean to see clearly — "and it's really interesting. I bet I could even do one of these spells, maybe."

"Oh, well, um—"

"I'll try now. If I blow my hand off, tell them my owl bit it off and flew away," he said.

"But you don't have—" Sean stopped as he noticed the grin on the boy's face. "Oh."

The boy pulled a wand from his trunk, about eleven inches long, which had some black, wavy lines carved into the handle. "I'll try the levitating charm. I bet it'll be easy enough, y'think?" Before Sean could give an answer, however, the boy pointed his wand at a stray quill sitting next to him and said the incantation forcefully, _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_ The quill made a hopeful roll and lay back motionless.

Sean frowned.

"Oh well," the boy said. "Maybe next time. You don't talk much, y'know." He put the wand down on the seat next to him. Just as Sean was looking back at his book to continue reading, the boy spoke up again. "I never introduced myself, did I? I'm Julius. Julius Virdo." Julius leaned across and held out his hand.

Sean hesitated, and then took it, shaking it lightly.

"So you're a first year, too?" said Julius. "That's cool. My mom's already told me all about it — Hogwarts, I mean." Julius paused, just looking at Sean with a smile on his face. Just as Sean began to look away, he spoke again. "I can't wait to start lessons." Julius quickly changed the subject however. "D'you know what House you're going to be sorted in? Or at least who you want to be in."

This was something that Sean could at least relate to — he'd spent days talking about it with his sister. "Well," he started, "I dunno, really. My mum was in Gryffindor, and my dad was in Hufflepuff, so I guess I'd like to be in one of those. I guess Slytherin wouldn't be so bad either, and Ravenclaw'd be nice, 'cause I've been told I'm kind of smart, so I guess I really don't mind what House I'm in, really."

"Really?" said Julius curiously. "My mom said that Slytherin is mostly Pureblood snobs — she was in Gryffindor, y'know — but I'm a Pureblood, so I dunno. And Hufflepuff is really kinda useless, she says. My dad doesn't know much, since he's from Australia — they met when my mom went on an exchange year to Australia, and they've been together since."

Julius went on and on about the things he'd learned about Hogwarts, and then into his favorite Quidditch teams, and who he wanted to win the league that year — he hardly left Sean any room to talk. Whenever Sean tried to insert a comment about something, Julius would cut him off, bringing in some other comment about some other topic. Eventually, Sean just gave up and picked up his book again. Julius didn't even notice, and kept on talking to no one.

Sean didn't look up from his book again until the compartment door was opened once more. _Surely we're not to the castle yet_, said Sean. _It's not even dark yet. _Even Julius looked up to see who it was.

Standing in the doorway was a tall boy, surrounded by three other boys and a girl that was smirking. Every one of them was wearing emerald green robes, contrasting greatly with the jeans and tee shirt that Sean was wearing. Suddenly, he felt rather self-conscious.

"First years, have we here?" said the boy. "Looks like you guys could use a little initiation ceremony. . . . What House are you going to be in?" Both Julius and Sean shrugged their shoulders. "So, I suppose you're sure you won't be in Slytherin, then. Maybe we could, ah — convince you?"

Sean didn't have a chance to say anything before the kids began to pile into the compartment.

"Hey, what's going on up there?" a voice from outside the compartment called. "What are you guys doing?" Another person pushed through into the already crowded compartment, and Sean was soon looking up into the face of his sister. "Spencer, what are you picking on first years for? This isn't the time. You shouldn't be doing that anyway. Just 'cause you're a second year now doesn't mean you're top of the school. Think you have a few more years until that."

The boy looked up at Brooke, who stood a good eight inches taller. "At least I can play Quidditch, Miller."

Brooke gave a hollow laugh. "I can't believe that Jennifer even sunk as low as to put a first year at Keeper. How many goals did I score against you in the Gryffindor–Slytherin game last year? Was it eighteen? That sounds about right. And then Christian caught the Snitch making it . . . five-forty to thirty? Am I right, Liam?"

Liam, rather than speaking, turned and headed back out into the corridor, his cronies following him silently.

"Sorry you had to see that, Sean," said Brooke as the compartment door closed. "You're lucky I chose now to come down and check on you." She turned toward Julius. "So you're doing all right, then? I see you found a friend, huh."

"Yeah," Sean muttered.

"Well, if you'll be all right, I'll go back. I guess I won't see you till we're back at the castle, now, so take care of yourself, would you?"

Brooke left the compartment, but before she shut it behind her, she stuck her head back in, saying, "You might wanna change into your robes. We'll be there in about an hour, but time'll go quicker than you think if you put it off." She finally shut the compartment door behind her.

"Your sister seems cool — she plays Quidditch? I bet she's pretty good, too. I was going to try out, 'cause I hear from my cousin that Gryffindor's looking for a Seeker now, and I think I could maybe make it. I dunno." Julius looked out the window, as did Sean. It was definitely getting darker out there. "I s'pose we should get changed, then, if we're almost there. We don't want to look like idiots."

"Yeah," Sean murmured. "Yeah, I guess so."

Sean and Julius both quickly got changed, unsure of how little time they had. Instead of reading, Sean talked with his new friend about Quidditch — Sean gave his thoughts on the Appleby Arrows' chance of winning the United Kingdom Cup that year, and then about the classes he thought they'd take — finally, they reached the topic of the Sorting.

"So whadaya think we'll have to do?" Julius asked. "My cousin Ricky told me you had to complete some type of test or something. Maybe we'll have to perform a spell. Maybe I should've read more of the Spell book. Maybe we should —"

"Don't listen to him," Sean said, smiling. "Brooke says that they use something to do with hats, or something."

"Oh. Maybe we'll have to pull something out of it. Or —"

Once again, Sean tuned out. It wasn't long before the train began to slow down, and as the train pulled to a stop, the nervousness in the pit of his stomach returned. He was finally here — at Hogwarts — or at least, he would be in a short time.

"Finally," said Julius. "That seemed like forever. Let's go!" They hauled their trunks from the compartment and into the corridor of the car. Sean followed his eager friend Julius out until they reached an exit, stepping down to the ground into the crowd of people.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!" called a deep voice. "Firs' years!"

Sean turned, along with Julius, toward the voice. A man, twice as tall as his father, was standing in the crowd, waving his hand toward himself, indicating that the new boys and girls were to follow him. Sean gestured in the man's direction while Julius followed him through the mass of second years and above going in the other direction.

Slowly, but steadily, they made their way over to the man where dozens of other first years were clamped together, murmuring amongst themselves. "Firs' years, follow me," said the gigantic man when all of them had gathered around him. "Come on, then." He turned and led them down a slope forest path, taking enormous strides while the kids struggled to keep up. It took around three quick steps of the eleven year olds' to match one of the man's.

At the end of the path stood a dock, with which at least thirty beds were spread around. "All righ', then, get in. No more'n four to a boat. Hurry up, now."

Sean clambered into a boat, quickly followed by Julius, who was chattering animatedly, though Sean wasn't paying much attention. Two other nervous-looking boys got in next to them, obviously too anxious to talk.

"Everybody in, then?" asked the enormous man, who was in a boat of his own. "Good. Forward."

As he said this word, every single boat lurched forward, gliding across the black lake beneath them. It reflected the silver moonlight, making the air around them shine brilliantly. "This is awesome, isn't it?" muttered Julius excitedly.

Sean didn't bother to answer, too hypnotized by the view that had just come into sight — a humongous, magnificent castle sat on the other side of the lake before them. Sean's mouth fell open in a bit of awe. "Wow," he said quietly. "It's amazing . . ."

"Wow!" shouted Julius, drawing the attention of many people in nearby boats. "That's spectacular! I wish my house looked like that, y'know. 'Course we've never been rich, really, but it's nothing worth fussing about, I guess. My mom always says that being rich doesn't matter when you have family. I dunno, 'cause my cousins can get pretty annoying sometimes. But we're not poor, just in —"

For once, Julius stopped talking. They'd reached the other side of the lake, and had entered a small little cavern cut into the side of a rock face. "Whoa. It's nothing like I imagined," Julius said with seeming amazement in his voice. "This is way cooler."

The boats stopped with another small lurch, and the gigantic man stood back up. "All right, then. Get out of the boats and follow me — careful now, watch yer step, there."

They once again followed him, this time up a set of stairs. No one seemed sure of where they were all going. Sean tried counting all the steps but lost count after two-hundred and thirty-something. Even Julius was silent now. Finally, after a difficult journey up for the legs of the first years, they reached a door, which promptly swung open, as if pre-warned of their coming presence, granting them entrance into what must've been the castle.

Another flock of murmuring spread through the crowd — no one seemed quite sure what happened now. A tall, strict-looking woman in emerald green robes stood at the foot of the steps in front of all of them. Everyone fell silent at the sight of her.

"Thank you," she said. "I would like to welcome you all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

No one said a word as the woman paused, apparently too nervous to speak.

"I shall lead you into the Great Hall, of which the door is behind me, and you will be called one by one to be sorted into your Houses. If you have no questions, then you may all follow me." Either no one had any questions, or they were all too intimidated to express them, because the entire room was still silent. "Good." She turned to face the huge man that had escorted them this far. "Thank you, Rubeus. Go ahead and take your seat at the Staff Table. I hear the elves have prepared a wonderful treacle tart for this year's feast."

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," said the great man, who promptly strode up past the students and through the doors of the Great Hall awaiting them all.

"Now, if you'll all follow me."

She turned and every student slowly followed her, each of them struggling not to be at the front of them all. Once they'd all piled through the doors, every single eye in the Hall was upon them, watching them all intently.

"I will call you up alphabetically to be sorted." She strode to a platform in front of the Staff Table, about twenty yards away, and pulled over a stool, upon which sat a very old and very frayed hat that had a great tear in the front. She then wove her wand and a list appeared in her hand for her to read. "Abernathy, James."

The boy stumbled up toward the Professor, looking pale and extremely nervous. He sat on the stool as Professor McGonagall lifted the hat and placed it upon the boy's head. If it were not for his rather protruding ears, it would've fallen completely over his head and onto his shoulders. It took a moment, but the rip in the hat opened, shouting out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

_So this is what sorts us_, thought Sean as Adams, Macy was called to the stool. It considered for a moment, and then yelled, "RAVENCLAW!" The nervous looking girl hurriedly over to a table, whose members were clapping enthusiastically.

The Professor made her way down the long list, and it wasn't long before Michaels, Jason had been called to the stool. Sean felt a sick, tugging feeling in his gut. With almost certainty, he knew that he would be next in line. As the Hat called out, "SLYTHERIN!" Sean felt the blood rushing from his face.

"Miller, Sean."

All eyes were upon him now as he slowly made his way up to the stand, the strict Professor looking down upon him, though not necessarily in a mean way. _This is it_, Sean thought, as the Sorting Hat fell down over his head, plunging him into near darkness.


	2. The Eagle and the Fat Lady

_**Servant of Eliam's A/N: Yeah, here's Chapter Two for you. Once again, co-written with Novelisto.**_

_**Novelisto's A/N: ******__Hey Guys! Thanks for reading it so far. Here's chapter 2 (pretty soon, huh?) Enjoy!_

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_The Department of Mysteries_

_by Novelisto and  
__Servant of Eliam  
_

Chapter II: The Eagle and the Fat Lady

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The darkness of the Hat was nerve-racking, though mainly because Sean had no idea what was going on outside. He knew all eyes were on him. But how exactly did the Hat decide what House to put him in? He sat in silence for a couple more seconds, but a voice in his ear made him jump.

"So what House should you be put in?" asked the small voice in his ear. ". . . If I remember right, your sister was in Gryffindor, was she not? Perhaps you'd do well there . . ."

_You can talk?_ Sean thought.

"Yes, very much so, Mr. Miller."

_And you read my thoughts too, then._

"How else would I sort you?" it muttered impatiently. "Now Gryffindor, it wouldn't be bad, as your mother and sister both went there, but your father — oh, yes, I remember him — he was in Hufflepuff, was he not? You do show some signs of definite loyalty, whether to your friends or your family . . .

"But," said the Sorting Hat quite quickly, "you show shreds of bravery and chivalry — you wouldn't dare leave your friends when in peril. But then there's Hufflepuff, though something tells me it's just not right for you . . ."

_So you're Sorting me into Gryffindor, then? _Sean wondered.

"Perhaps not, though — I'm seeing some qualities of other Houses as well. Like Slytherin, for instance . . ."

_My friend said that Slytherin's for stuck-up Pureblood snobs. And I'm not Pureblood._

"No, you're not Pureblood, nor stuck-up. But Slytherin is not necessarily for such people. Many fine, non-Pureblood Wizards have come from that House. Quite a respectable House, I must say. You certainly do show signs of cunning and ambition — you want to be good, successful. You'd do quite fine in Slytherin."

_Oh. If you say so_, Sean thought.

"But I still haven't reached a decision — yes, you're quite a tough case to crack. That brings me to Ravenclaw, now, doesn't it?"

Sean sat in silence without thinking. He must've been up on the stool for longer than anyone else — at least a minute already. _So, Ravenclaw, then?_ Sean thought.

"Possibly, possibly. You show definite intelligence and cleverness. You'd do fine in any of the Houses, really. But one seems to step forward just slightly more than the others do . . . ," said the Hat.

_Which?_ Sean thought eagerly. _Gryffindor? Slytherin?_

"Yes, it'd better be —" the Sorting Hat paused "— RAVENCLAW!"

The Hat was lifted from his head. Sean didn't know what to do, at first, as he was dumbstruck, but he slowly made his way toward the Ravenclaw table in front of him to his right. All of the members of that table were standing and clapping wildly, smiling broadly at their new addition. Over at the Gryffindor table, Sean saw his sister standing alone and clapping.

Sean found and seat and sat down between two people he didn't know. But then again, he didn't know anybody in Ravenclaw. At the table behind him, sitting almost just across, he saw the boy named Liam Spencer glaring hatefully at him. Sean shook his head and turned away to watch the Sorting as Milton, Rachael was called to the stool.

Sean wasn't paying attention anymore, though. He was thinking more about his own Sorting. _Ravenclaw?_ Sean thought. _Why Ravenclaw? I thought I'd be in Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor, or even Slytherin before I'd be put in Ravenclaw. Now I won't even see my sister much anymore._

The Slytherin table behind him erupted in cheers as Milton, Rachael ran to join them. The cheering had broken Sean's train of thoughts, but he found it once more as Nathans, Robert was called to the stool for his Sorting. _Why Ravenclaw?_ It was his last thought before Nathans, Robert ran to join the Hufflepuff table.

Julius stood in the mass of still unsorted first years. He'd watched as Sean had run off to the Ravenclaw table, and he became rather worried. Julius didn't think that he had the mental capacity, the cleverness necessary to be in Ravenclaw. He probably wouldn't be able to join his only friend. _You'll make other friends_, a small voice in the back of his mind told him. _And besides, you'll be able to talk to him after the classes of the day are over. It's no big deal._

Being near the end of the list, as a V, Julius thought that he wouldn't have the pressure of going first. But in all truth, it was only more and more nerve-racking as the list progressed. He almost felt pressured, as if he'd have to work harder, although he wasn't sure he'd need to work at all.

The feeling in his gut intensified as Wilson, Susan was called up. He knew that he'd probably be next. But the pressure seemed to lighten at that point, to his surprise. _Maybe it doesn't matter. I mean, I want to be in Gryffindor, but do I have to? Does it really matter? _It all returned, however, when the girl on the stool was sent to Slytherin.

"Virdo, Julius," called Professor McGonagall.

Julius gulped, and slowly pushed his way to the front of the four remaining kids and toward the stand, feeling all eyes upon him. At the staff table, a stern, mean looking witch looked down at him, showing little signs of actually wanting to be there. Her beady black eyes were filled with resentment. Julius forced himself to look away and hurried up to the stool.

He stepped up onto it and sat down, looking out upon the hundreds of students looking back from the House tables. They were soon gone from view as the musty old Hat fell over his head.

"Hmmm," said a voice in his ear, making hi jump in his seat. "You're not a very tough one, are you? You're brave, chivalrous—all the qualities of a Gryffindor. But you do show much ambition, certainly; you might do nicely in Slytherin."

_Not Slytherin_, Julius thought, _anything but Slytherin! My mum says it's for stuck-up Purebloods. I'm a Pureblood, but I don't want to be stuck-up._

"You're the one that told the boy earlier that . . . he didn't seem keen to be put in Slytherin, either. He certainly was a tough case, took me a while. It's not really true," said the Hat, "but if you're sure of that, I'd better stick you in GRYFFINDOR!"

Julius gave a meek smile as the Sorting Hat was lifted from his head, and he stood up eagerly from the stool. _Gryffindor_, he thought, as he rushed down to the far left table, where everyone was standing and clapping enthusiastically. Julius saw Sean's sister near the middle, and headed toward her. There'd be someone friendly there, at least.

"Way to go!" said Sean's sister, who had an empty seat next to her. "Sit here."

"Thanks," he mumbled, sitting down. "It's just too bad Sean wasn't here."

"Yeah," she said. "You're Julius, right?" Julius nodded. "I'm Brooke." She held out her hand and smiled. Julius took it and shook, eager to be sitting by someone friendly. "You'll love Hogwarts—and don't worry. There's plenty of time in the day to talk with people from other Houses, if you want. One of my best friends is in Slytherin."

Julius felt a wave of relief wash over him as she said this to him. He'd been worried that he'd only be able to talk to Gryffindor people while at the school. "That's good."

"They even have some classes together, so you'll meet people from all the Houses."

"Oh," said Julius, feeling even more relieved. "That's cool."

He went silent as the last person (Zimmerman, Martin) was called to the stool and placed in Ravenclaw. Professor McGonagall, in no particular hurry, pulled the stool to the side and set the Sorting Hat down upon it again, where it sat in silence. She then walked back to the Staff Table and, rather than sitting turned to address the school.

"Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts!" she called.

"Is she Headmistress?" Julius muttered to Brooke when the Professor paused.

Brooke nodded slightly and put a finger to her lips to shush him, intent on listening to the Headmistress speak.

"To all who are new, the first years, welcome! To all returning once again, welcome back!" The sternness seemed to have left her voice slightly as she spoke her greeting. Julius thought he might've seen her give the slightest upturn at the corner of her lips, but it faded just as quickly.

"The caretaker, Mr. Filch, has once again asked me to remind you that the use of magic in the corridors is against the rules, and may be punishable. And once again, though we may have less trouble with this nowadays, I must inform all first years — and remind certain older students — that the Forbidden Forest is, as its name might suggest, forbidden to all students, at all times."

A wave of murmurs spread through the hundreds of students.

"Now, if that is all," said the Headmistress, "dig in!"

Julius didn't know exactly what there was to dig into, but as soon as he thought this, plates of food appeared on the table in front of him. Platters full of meat pie, pork chops, and other delicacies were just sitting there for the taking. As soon as they appeared, everyone immediately grabbed food, and Julius wasn't to be left out. His plate was already full of things to eat, and just as soon as everyone else, he'd dug in.

Julius ate until he was stuffed, until he couldn't force any more of the delicious food down his throat. It was then, as everyone else had finished, that he realized that there would be desert. He didn't know exactly if he'd be able to eat anymore, but, somehow, he managed to stuff three slices of apple pie down.

By the time everyone had finished, Julius was full beyond all belief, and he was ready for bed. The plates cleared themselves magically and were as clean as they had been before the feast. Professor McGonagall stood from her seat in the center of the staff table, and cleared her throat before tapping her spoon lightly against her glass.

"I have just but a couple more announcements before you all head off to bed," she said. "House Quidditch tryouts will be held when the team Captains specify, and will be on the House announcement boards in your common rooms. My last announcement —" A smirk fell across her face. "Have a wonderful term!"

With those last words, every student in the Great Hall stood up from their seats. Unsure of what to do, Julius followed suit. He followed Brooke as the mass of Gryffindors made their way from the Great Hall.

"First years! First years over here!" A boy with a prominent badge on his chest was calling for the first years, as was a girl apparently of the same year, who also had a badge. Julius figured he'd better do what they said, and made his way over to them.

When the boy was sure he had all of the first years of his House, he started to walk briskly up a staircase, giving a tour of sorts to them, while the girl walked silently beside him. "I'm Aidan Mills, and I'm one of the Prefects of Gryffindor House. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me. This —" He gestured to the staircase they were walking up. "— is the Grand Staircase. Some of you might find it a bit of a surprise, but —"

He was cut off as the staircase gave a lurch, and began to turn. He laughed shortly. "Well, it moves!"

A murmur of impressed sounding voices joined this comment as the staircase pulled to a halt.

Aidan continued. "Make sure you remember the path we take to reach the common room tonight. Your common room will be like your home while you are here at Hogwarts. You sleep in the dormitories there, do homework, and just hang out." He paused and turned back around to face his front. "Ah, and here we are, now. The password — remember this now — is 'Fanged Geranium.'"

A portrait depicting a fat lady said, "Right you are," and swung open to reveal a passage into a room beyond. Aidan led them all into the room beyond. It was lit with candles and torches alight, and a fire blazed in the fireplace. Comfy looking armchairs and sofas surrounded the fireplace, and bookshelves lined one wall, while windows looking down onto the grounds lined another. The two remaining walls simply had portraits and the beginnings of staircases.

"Now this," said Aidan loudly, so that all could hear, "is your common room." He pointed to their right. "Over that way is the staircase to the boys' dormitories." Aidan then pointed to their left. "And, of course, the other staircase leads to the girls' dormitories. You'll find your luggage already in your rooms. Simply find the door with your name on it, and you'll find your beds inside. Off to bed, then," Aidan concluded. "You have a long day ahead of you, now."

The chatter rose again for a moment, but died down as the two groups of first years, a group of around fifteen each, headed in different directions for their dormitories. Julius headed with the boys to their right. For one of the first times of the night, he had nothing to say. He didn't know any of the boys, and this kept him rather silent, at least for now.

He made his way slowly up the stairs near the middle of the group, his speed controlled by the others entirely. He soon found his room — it was the first one they reached. He'd been roomed with four unfamiliar names, obviously. It wasn't as if he'd expected to room with Brooke.

Julius found his luggage at what must've been the foot of his trunk. The other boys filed slowly in behind him, none of them speaking. Now that there were fewer of them, Julius felt suddenly less self-conscious.

"Hullo, everyone!" he said eagerly. Three of the others looked up silently at him, without speaking, though one other looked gladly up at his greeting.

"Hi!" he said. His mousy brown hair was a mess on top of his head. "I'm Alec! Alec Mason."

"Julius Virdo," Julius replied happily. "Nice to meet you."

"Gryffindor, huh?" said Alec after plopping down on his bed. "Good House, I hear. Plus, my brother says they won the Quidditch Cup the last two years. Some girl named Brooke Miller is doing a lot of it, he says."

Julius grinned. "Oh, yeah. Met her. She's pretty good, I hear." He sat down on his own bed, which was feeling much more inviting as his eyelids grew heavier. "S'pose we better get to sleep, shouldn't we? Classes first thing in the morning."

"Oh, yeah, I can't wait. I think Potions sounds fascinating, and I heard that the Professor is really cool, and all." Alec looked eager to talk more, but Julius saw weariness in the boy's face.

"So, uh, g'night, I guess." Julius stood up awkwardly and blew the candles out. None of the other boys had spoken, and Julius didn't figure they'd been eager to. _Sure showing a lot of Gryffindor bravery, aren't they?_ Julius thought as he pulled his covers up to blanket himself.

It wasn't long before his eyes fell too heavy to keep open, and they shut, plunging Julius into awaited sleep.

Sean sat in the Ravenclaw common room. After everyone else in his dormitory had gone to bed, he'd snuck back out with one of his Spell books, intent on reading. A couple of older students, a boy and girl, had been the only others in the common room, snogging in the corner, but they'd more or less ignored Sean as he'd found a comfortable armchair by the fire, and opened his book.

It was near midnight when he'd decided to stop reading, as his heavy-lidded eyes threatened more than ever to shut themselves for sleep. The fire had reduced to little more than smoldering ashes, and he'd been reading by moonlight for over half an hour. He stood up and looked around. It wasn't a surprise to Sean that he was completely alone. He looked back for a moment at the passage that led out of the common room, thinking about the eagle that stood proudly beyond, handing out riddles to whoever was intent on entering the common room. Sean had found it a confusing thing at first, but figured if he was to be in Ravenclaw, he'd need to show some intelligence and cleverness, at the least.

He slowly and quietly made his way back up the staircase to the dormitories. As silently as possible, he turned the handle of the dormitory door and slipped inside the room. The door made a soft click as it shut once more. Sean looked around. His fellow roommates were all fast asleep, snoring softly. Silky moonlight poured in through the window, bathing a portion of the room in silvery light. It lit the way for Sean to reach his bed noiselessly, without running into stray possessions on the floor, though he doubted there would be any already.

He slipped into his bed and pulled the hangings shut. If he had more light, he'd have liked to have read more into the interesting Spell book, in which he'd already reached the fourth chapter. But his body willed him not to. Exhaustion had truly begin to set in after he'd pulled his covers over himself.

Aches and stiffness from the train ride, standing for a long time while waiting to be sorted, and sitting in the same position for hours reading in the common room. He'd be happy when he finally fell asleep.

_There's classes to look forward to tomorrow_, he told himself. _And maybe even Quidditch tryouts next Friday, if I'm up to it. Nothing to fret about. Just get to sleep._

And Sean did. His eyelids drooped shut just after he thought this, and he was thrown into a dreamless sleep.


	3. The Note

_**Servant of Eliam's A/N: **__So here's Chapter 3 all ready for you. As I write this, Novelisto should either be sleeping or working on this, so you'll have a new one soon__**.**_

* * *

_Year One: The Department of Mysteries_

_by Novelisto  
and Servant of Eliam_

Chapter III: The Note

* * *

Sean awoke with a start as a crack of thunder pierced the air just outside the dormitory window. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes vigorously. Rain pounded the roof and windows relentlessly, making Sean grateful that he had a nice, warm bed to sleep in. Now that he was awake, however, he didn't feel like going back to sleep quite yet.

Slipping out of the covers, he quietly crept over to the window and looked out as another flash of lightning split the sky, coupled with a boom of thunder once again. The oddest part about the storm, Sean decided, was that the sky had been clear during the evening, including when he'd looked at the ceiling in the Great Hall.

Sean scanned the sky through the heavy rain and realized as he squinted that he couldn't see the ground far below. He was just now realizing how high up Ravenclaw Tower was. The feeling was nauseating, as he'd never been on much for heights.

Just as he was turning to go back to bed, his eye caught something. Down on what must have been the ground, he saw a light similar to that from a wand bobbing through the air as its holder walked. It may have just been a lantern, but either way, there was definitely someone down there. Why they'd want to be out in this downpour evaded him entirely.

The light was enough to illuminate the muddy ground slightly, as well as a pair of legs moving and an overcoat swaying in the strong breeze, though Sean could see no face due to the hood pulled up over it. Although, he doubted he could've recognized anyone from that height anyway. The lantern bobbed until it was out of sight, but Sean was sure that whoever was carrying it was going to get into the castle. He wanted to warn someone, to let them know of the intruder, but it was past midnight, he was tired, and Sean knew that he wasn't even supposed to be out of the common room past eight o'clock. He had no other option but to go to bed.

Pushing the image of the bobbing torch from his mind, along with everything else, he slipped back under the covers and closed his eyes. Across the room, one of his roommates stirred in his bed, but remained sleeping. Sean himself focused on falling back asleep, as he'd need his rest for his classes in the morning. It wasn't long before his swimming mind and still body fell into slumber.

Sean awoke before anyone else in his dormitory, but this time it was light out, as if the sun had just shortly ago rose. He quietly changed from his nightclothes into his robes and set off down the stairs toward the common room.

The common room was nearly empty, save for a few other early-risers, and, deciding there was little more to do, he slipped out of the common room and headed for the Great Hall.

The staircases kept moving on his way down, however, and he was soon lost, somewhere on the fourth floor. "Uh . . . ," he said aloud, unsure of what to do next. He found a corridor that he thought would lead back to the Grand Staircase, but Sean was led to a dead end, and eventually he gave up, looking around for someone to help.

But there was no one — most people had already probably found their way to the Great Hall, and hadn't wandered from the Grand Staircase, which Sean soon realized is what he should've done.

He turned to head back the way he came and, as he reached the intersection again, noticed two corridors he hadn't before. One led upward, while the other led down. It seemed the logical choice would be to go down, so he took it, and, yet again, was led to a dead end. There was just a table with a vase on it. He growled quietly in anger, and turned to head back, but not before he noticed something sitting under the vase, trapped between it and the table.

Curious, Sean approached and gently slipped it out from under the vase. He slowly wiggled it, and it soon came free. Sean saw that it was nothing more than a piece of paper with small writing on it. He turned away, but—before he could take another step—heard the sickening sound of crashing and shattering glass behind him. Sean slowly turned around to see shards of the vase lying everywhere. He felt a dreadful sense of foreboding, and the next thing he heard was the meow of a cat.

Startled, Sean quickly turned to see a cat staring menacingly back at him — though he wasn't entirely sure how a cat could do such a thing. The only thing he knew was that if he stuck around, he'd be in big trouble. He set off at a run, the paper still clutched in his hand, as the cat turned to run off in the other direction. Sean took the staircase up and opened the door at the top, finding himself back, to his surprise, at the Grand Staircase. There were several other students heading his way now, chattering away, so he slipped out just behind them and closed the door, breathing heavily.

Sean stared down at the paper once more as he reached the next landing. He began to decipher the small, delicate handwriting, and soon, he was able to read it.

_To Madrid,_

_Our next meeting will be you-know-where at half past eleven on September 1. We expect to see you there on time, as to discuss the matters of the you-know-what. Plan to arrive early if at all possible._

_Ankara_

That was all the scribbled note contained. It disappointed Sean. The words and names both meant nothing to him. But the names did strike him as odd — he'd never seen anything like them before. They seemed rather strange, and he seriously doubted that they were their real names. They seemed more like nicknames, or perhaps codenames.

Maybe they're spies! Sean thought as he began to descend the stairs once again. That'd explain the names and the way that the letter was worded. He was too deep in thought to notice that he was straight on course to run into someone else. It was too late when he did, and ran right into the older student, stumbling away.

"Hey! Watch it, kid!" the older boy snarled, shoving Sean. Sean fell to the ground, still rather dazed and absentminded. The other boy walked off, upward toward the fourth floor.

Sean got to his feet and finished his journey to the Great Hall and headed inside the now crowded Hall. He scanned the room and spotted Julius sitting at the Gryffindor table over to his right. Heading that way, he sat down across from his friend.

"Hey," Sean said, grabbing some toast from one of the plates in front of him. Some of the older students were giving him some weird looks, as if it was odd he was sitting at a different table.

"Oh, hey, Sean!" Julius said enthusiastically. "Where've you been? Breakfast is almost over already. And you missed the owl post — it was amazing! Hundreds of owls swooping this way and that." His plate was piled with eggs and bacon, which made Sean want to be sick.

Sean's Muggle mother had taken him to his aunt's animal farm when he was a young child, and, throughout the day, he'd grown attached to the chickens and goats and pigs, playing with the younger ones. But at the end of the day, when it was time for dinner, his aunt had taken a chicken and killed it, and, without Sean knowing, served it for dinner. When Sean's mother had let slip after dinner that it was one of the chickens from out in the farmyard, the young Sean had been mortified, and hadn't eaten a single bite of anything meat since. It appalled him.

"Try thumb uff thith bacon," said Julius through a mouth full of food. "Ith delithith!"

Sean ignored his friend and grabbed a half of a banana from and tray, peeling the skin away for the more edible part of the fruit. Julius was chattering away about how he figured classes that day would be, and what he thought the teachers might be like,

"What about that big guy down on the end? Looks like a real brute, don't you think?" said Julius after swallowing a mouthful of eggs, referring to the man that had led them into the school the night before.

"Oh, he's way nicer than he looks." Sean and Julius looked up as Sean's sister sat down at the table, next to Sean. She had to have already eaten, as she didn't bother grabbing any of the food to eat. "You won't have him, anyway," continued Brooke casually. "He teaches Care of Magical Creatures — third years and up."

"Oh," muttered Julius. "So what about the rest of the teachers? Some of them look pretty old."

"There definitely more capable than they look, Julius. You see the small man there, sitting to the left of Professor McGonagall in the center?"

"Yeah," Julius replied, noting the extremely short and extremely old professor that sat talking merrily with the Headmistress. He had to sit upon a stack of books to reach the table.

"That's Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw Head of House. He teaches Charms," Brooke explained. "One of you'll probably have him sometime today. One of the best duelers I've ever seen, though—does things with the wand you wouldn't believe. Just last year, he made me fly ten feet up in the air with a flick of his wand—while I was still sitting in my chair! It was amazing!"

Sean was impressed, but didn't have time to say anything, as Brooke cut in again. "Speaking of schedules, here they come now!"

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick made their ways down the aisles in between the House tables, handing out what looked to be schedules on sheets of parchment. They were accompanied by two other older professors. One was an old, round, balding man with a jolly look on his face and many laugh lines that were more likely wrinkles. The other was a stern, yet almost easy-going looking woman, clad in dirty robes and gardening gloves.

"You'd better head back to the Ravenclaw table, Sean," Brooke added as Professor McGonagall neared the end of the Gryffindor table. "I'll talk to you later!"

Sean stood up and hurried two tables over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down at the end just as the short little Professor Flitwick reached him. Sean was just eleven, but he was a good two feet taller than the short man was already.

"Ah — Mr. Miller, I presume?" squeaked the high voice of the man. "Yes, yes, of course, here is your schedule." He handed the schedule up to Sean, which felt rather odd to him, being a first year student. "Now hurry along — your first class starts soon, and you don't want to be late!"

Sean took the warning and hurried from the Great Hall. According to his schedule, he had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, with the Hufflepuffs, and had twenty minutes until it began. He already realized that it had been a stupid idea not to bring his schoolbooks with him to breakfast, and felt that he probably had the farthest to go to get to his common room.

When he reached his common room, he faced a rather easy riddle, which he answered quickly, and hurried into the common room. He was grateful for the easy pass of entrance, as he had little time. Sean guessed that he only had ten minutes left until class began. The common room had been deserted when he'd entered, save for a few older students that looked questioningly at him as he sprinted through the room toward the dormitory.

He emerged a minute later, his bag bulging with books and supplies for the classes to come in the day ahead. Once again, looks were drawn to him from the half-dozen students littering the common room. Sean ran from the common room and disappeared from sight.

Several minutes later, Sean entered the near full Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Everyone in the room stared as he entered and slumped in an empty seat near the door. He hadn't been late, but had been short moments away from being so. The clock hit nine seconds later, and the professor sulked into the room, clad in dark robes and shoes. She was tall, young, and thin, and gave the impression of someone rather vain, though Sean wouldn't have described her as pretty.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts class," she said rather uninvitingly to the students, as if she'd rather be somewhere else at the moment. "I am Professor Patton." She walked out from behind her desk, striding slowly toward the students in their seats. "In here, you'll learn the common and basic defense against the foulest beings and magic to exist on the earth, things that could tear you to shreds without proper preparation. That is why I am here — to train you against such things.

"Wands away," she said coldly to the class, as most of them had their wands set on their desks hopefully, as if they'd get to try magic. "We'll not be using magic in this class at first—not until you've got the idea down. Now, open up to the first page of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble and read the introduction."  
Sean dragged his book from his bag and opened it up to the front page. He was moderately disappointed that they weren't going to be using magic — he just hoped all of the rest of his classes weren't just like this. He read eagerly, however, as the desire for knowledge overwhelmed his sluggishness, and soon he had finished. He looked around and noticed that everyone seemed to still be reading, save for a few in the back that had fallen asleep.

Another ten minutes later, after Sean had already delved deep into the first chapter, the bell rang out from across the grounds, signaling the end of class. Before anyone could leave, however, Professor Patton stopped all of the students, shutting the door with her wand as a student was trying to hurry out. "For class Thursday, I'd like you to write me no less than a foot of parchment on your thoughts about Quentin Trimble's views on the Dark Arts."

The door swung open once more as the professor finished, permitting the students to leave. They'd all groaned at getting an assignment already, and slowly filed out of the class while muttering amongst themselves. Sean was silent, remaining at the back. He didn't have anyone to talk to, as his only friends were in Gryffindor House. He hadn't even learned the names of his dorm mates, as he hadn't spoke a word to them the night before after going to bed. He was still silent as he moved with the mass of first year Ravenclaws toward the History of Magic classroom.

The rest of them were chattering animatedly about what they supposed History of Magic would be like, though Sean figured that it'd be nothing to do with using magic, as he doubted there would be any Spells related to studying history.

His theory proved correct, as they'd begun at once in the lesson with the lecture that the professor had prepared. But it was the professor was the one person that had gotten the most attention — Professor Binns was a ghost, to the astonishment of the excited first years. They'd been too surprised to bother taking notes, unlike Sean.

Sean seemed to be different. After the general shock of having a dead professor wore off, most of the class became bored and tried to take notes, though most stopped soon, unable to pay attention to the monotone drone of Professor Binns. Some messed around in the back, talking quietly, while others preferred to catch up on sleep from the night before, in which they'd undoubtedly stayed up too late.

Sean, however, was quickly scribbling down notes, listening intently to the lecture. Once he got past the general dullness in Professor Binns' voice, he thought that the subject was fascinating. With talk of goblin rebellions, it all caught on quick in Sean's eyes. He found that this class would probably be one of his favorites.

Sean was rather disappointed when the bell signaling the end of class rang, and was even further so let down — unlike the rest of the class — when Professor Binns didn't assign any homework to them. He packed his bag and headed from the classroom, heading for the last class of the morning: Charms.

He found the classroom easily enough, along with the rest of the Ravenclaw first years, who were joining the Gryffindors for the lesson. He was happy to see Julius in the room already, sitting alone in the front corner across the room. Sean smiled as his friend waved and he headed over, sitting down next to his companion.

Julius had just come from Potions, which Sean learned in the first minute of Julius talking, and was unsure of what to make of the subject, though he knew that the Professor was a nice man.

Sean managed to get in a few words about his disappointment with Defense Against the Dark Arts, but didn't have time to say much more as the short Professor Flitwick proceeded into the room, his little hands clutching a parchment, which he was reading intently. After a moment, the professor muttered, "Right," and rolled the parchment up, setting it on his desk, which to reach he had to climb a small stack of books like stairs to get to his chair, which also held a stack of what appeared to Sean to be dictionaries. "Right, then," said the man, scanning the class with his eyes. "It looks like everyone is here, so let us proceed!" He stepped down his miniature staircase and walked forward, facing the class.

"Welcome to Charms! A most wonderful subject, full of useful and exciting magic. You will be pleased, I suppose, to know that we will be using magic in today's lesson?" he noted, seeing the eager faces of the students, with their wands all sitting on their desks. "Charms are useful, both in everyday life, and even in dangerous situations. You will learn Charms that can help you cook and clean — you will also learn Charms that may very well someday save your life. As you may see, it is a very practical subject of magic to learn."

The small man seemed rather excited to be teaching, which wasn't a bad thing, Sean supposed. It only made for better classes. Professor Flitwick began by making his stack of books fly one after the other around the room in a pattern over the heads of the fascinated students. Next, he made every item on his desk levitate and do a little jig in midair. The class broke into applause when the professor finished, as the quills, inkbottles, and parchment gently set themselves back down on the table.

Finally, with about half of the lesson time gone, the professor set them to the task of making their quills levitate. "Cool. This is what I was trying on the train remember?" Julius whispered to Sean as the professor explained how to do the spell.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" shouted Sean, along with every other person in the room, trying to make his quill float from the ground. Julius had made his own wobble and jump half-heartedly, but hadn't made it get more than half an inch off the desk. Sean turned back to his own quill and said the incantation, making the swish and flick movement with his wand that Professor Flitwick had shown them. His quill fluttered for a moment, then, to his surprise, took off. It soared a good three feet into the air before the professor noticed.

"Oh! Excellent, Mr. Miller!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, applauding Sean enthusiastically. "Excellent, indeed! Take ten points for Ravenclaw!"

Sean felt a surge of pride flow through him as the professor congratulated him — a prefect had explained the House point system the night before, that accomplishing things in class would earn his House points. Sean felt rather excited that he'd already earned Ravenclaw ten points, as it must've been quite a bit.

At the end of class, once Julius had managed to make his own quill float for a few seconds nearly a foot off the ground (earning Gryffindor five points), the two friends headed down the Grand Staircase toward the Great Hall for lunch. The chatted rapidly about the joys of Charms class, and soon they reached the large Hall, ready for the awaited meal.

Sitting once again at the Gryffindor table, Sean and Julius kept up their conversation on classes while they ate, Sean having some of the vegetable soup from a bowl, along with an apple, while Julius ate a ham sandwiches and a sausage roll for his meal. Sean tried to ignore listen as he participated in the conversation, but he preferred to focus on the ceiling when Julius was talking.

"So you haven't had Potions yet? Oh, you'll probably like it, if you say you like History of Magic. I mean, it's not bad, I suppose — not so much magic as it is following instructions. But it's neat just the same," said Julius while pushing the last bit of roll into his mouth. "And Astronomy's all right, I guess. A little boring, if you ask me, but I don't mind it — you have that tomorrow, it says?"

Sean nodded as he scooped some mashed potatoes into his own mouth, swallowing before speaking again. "You have Defense Against the Dark Arts, right?"

"Yeah, just after lunch," Julius answered. "Why?"

"A little boring — we're only reading for now. I suppose we'll get onto some wand work eventually, but for right now it's more or less studying. And the professor's not all that great either — she doesn't really act as if she wants to be there at all. Really nasty-looking expression on her face all the time . . ."

"Wait a minute," Julius said, halting Sean in his description. "Does she have short, dark hair?" Sean nodded, a little confused. "Real thin eyebrows? A permanent glare on her face? Kinda young, too?"

Sean nodded after each trait Julius suggested. "Yeah, that's her — why?"

"Well, it's just that I saw someone like her at the feast. Yeah, it was a teacher, so it must've been her, but she'd glared at me in particular, as if she hated me more than anything else. It was a little weird, actually. Kinda frightened me."

"Oh." Sean didn't know exactly what to say. "Well . . . I didn't think she was that bad, y'know. Maybe a little uninviting, but she didn't say much."

"I guess I'll have to see for myself, then, won't I?" said Julius. He glanced at his wristwatch, which Sean noticed for the first time. It was silver-plated, and nice looking, Sean thought. "We'd better get to class — don't want to be late, do we?"

Julius stood up and his plate cleared instantly. "I'll talk you at dinner. See you, Sean." With that, Sean's only friend walked from the Great Hall, hefting his heavy bag off to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, leaving Sean alone once again.


	4. Mafalda

_**Novelisto's A/N: Hey guys. This is the fourth chapter and the first chapter written by me. Enjoy. **_

* * *

_Year One: The Department of Mysteries_

_by Novelisto  
and Servant of Eliam_

Chapter IV: Mafalda

* * *

Julius walked through the corridors of Hogwarts while his heavy bag swung on his back. He still had a smile on his face from lunch. He loved it here at Hogwarts. He had only been there for a day and a half, but it already felt like some kind of second home to him. He wondered whether or not that was strange. . . .

Julius rose up and down different stairways as he walked until finally, he reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. At the front of the queue, he saw Alec standing and talking rapidly with another student. As Julius walked closer to the two students, he saw that the second was a pretty girl with long black hair falling down her back, almost to her waist. She was taller than Alec by a couple of inches, but was about the same size as Julius was, he estimated. She was also a Ravenclaw, as Julius learned from looking at her robes. Julius was unsure as to why she was there, seeing as everybody else was a Gryffindor, and the Ravenclaws had had their class in the morning.

"Hey, Alec," said Julius, approaching casually. "What's up?"

"Oh, hey, Julius," Alec said in return. "Not much, now. Man, I'm so excited, though! I can't wait to finally be using some magic around here." Alec looked extremely pleased, so Julius decided not to tell him how slim the possibility of them using magic in that class was. He just nodded in agreement.

"But what about Charms?" Julius asked, a different question coming to mind.

"Well, I think Defense Against the Dark Arts magic will be so much more fun, though, if you ask me. I mean, fighting against Dark Wizards and creatures — it sounds awesome!"

The girl next to Alec cleared her throat expectantly as he finished his sentence.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Alec sounded just a little annoyed. "Julius, this is Alysia . . . er —"

"Becker," Alysia informed them with a smile. She had a lovely sounding voice and was quite pretty. But the smile had something more to it. . . . Almost like a smile Professor Patton would give . . . if she would ever smile, that is.

She moved her hand out for a shake but Julius just looked at it blankly. She put it down awkwardly. "I'm a Ravenclaw."

"I noticed." Julius gave her a weird look. He had nothing against Ravenclaws, really, but she seemed unusual to him. "Why are you here? I thought that Ravenclaws had Defense in the morning." Julius said, slightly confused.

"Well, I was sort of sick this morning and missed this class, so I'm taking it with you guys. Well, the professor made me, but that's really beside the point," Alysia explained. "I'll need to do some extra work to make up for missing Potions, but it'll be all right."

Professor Patton appeared suddenly behind them in the doorway.

"Come in, class," she shrilled over the chattering students, most of which hadn't noticed her skulk slowly towards the line of students. Those that had been talking hushed as soon as she spoke. She loomed over the classroom while the students prepared for the lesson. She sat ominously at her desk, watching the boys and girls file in, two by two.

Once everyone was seated, her beady black eyes fell onto Julius once more, who was sitting in the second row, next to Alec. It seemed like her eyes were drilling a hole right through him. There was silence as she stared at Julius. Everyone was waiting for her to assign them all work or give them spells to practice, but she was quite silent. . . . Until she suddenly stood and spoke.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts Class," she said in the same cold, high-pitched voice that her earlier students had endured. She slowly walked from behind her desk and moved to the front of it, pacing in the front of the classroom nonchalantly. "I am Professor Patton. In here, you'll learn the common and basic rules of defense. . . ." She repeated the same speech that Sean's class had received in the morning, only two classes earlier. She used the same words, gestures, and actions, all in an attempt to intimidate her classes. She finished her short introduction and scanned over the class once more.

"Wands away," Patton ordered. "We'll not be using magic in this first class — not until you know what you are doing quite well. . . ." She instructed, for the second time that day, for them to open their books and read the introduction.

Julius frowned, realizing Sean had been right. He looked around the classroom and saw a lot of other people put their wands away, disappointed. He looked at Alec next to him and saw that he was sulking as he buried his head into his book.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Julius muttered to his friend. "I'm sure we'll get to use some magic in our next —" Julius had been whispering to Alec, but he was interrupted by the professor, who had overheard them speaking.

"There will be no talking in my classroom!" she said sternly. "You," she said, pointing at Julius, "what is your name?" Professor Patton approached Julius's desk threateningly.

"Um . . ." Julius felt intimidated.

"'Um' is not a name," she said coldly. "What is your name?" she repeated.

"J-Julius Virdo."

"Well, Julius Virdo, if I were you, I'd be quiet when you are expected to be quiet. You don't want a detention on your first day now, do you? Or do you wish to spend extra time in my office?"

Julius didn't answer. Patton gave him one more piercing glare and strode back to her desk.

Julius looked back down at his book. He liked reading, he had to admit, but he thought it was stupid to read in a class where they could just practice what they were reading about. It wasn't helping, though, that Patton was glaring over him and the rest of the class every second of the period. He finished at the same time as everybody else. Everyone looked up to see what Patton would tell them to do next but she merely gestured for them to turn the page and read chapter one.

Julius smiled slightly at this. _There has to be some spells in here I can try._

He looked down again and read the first chapter, only to find it speaking of some dark creatures. But Julius kept reading. He had always had an interest in animals, those in particular. Julius finished the first chapter a couple of minutes before the bell rang. As the students put their books away, Professor Patton assigned the same homework she had given Sean's class.

Julius quickly walked out of the classroom and pulled out his timetable, checking what was to be next.

"History of Magic, Classroom 4F," Julius read aloud to Alec who was walking beside him. "Well, let's hope it's as good as Sean said."

When they arrived at the classroom on the fourth floor, Julius quickly discovered that Sean was wrong.

He had tried to take notes, but only got a few down before his eyelids drooped, and he fell fast asleep. But after only a minute, Alec, who was furiously scribbling notes on a piece of parchment, nudged Julius, waking him up.

"Pay attention," he hissed. Julius sat up straight and put his pen to paper again. He had only made about ten short dot points before the bell signaled the end of the class. As Julius walked down the spiraling staircases of the castle, he noticed it was evening already. It looked as though it was starting to spit rain too. _Not much of a morale booster_, he thought.

Julius walked down the stone steps towards the Great Hall for the last meal of the day. Along the way, he passed an office door that was slightly ajar, casting a light and shadow upon the floor of the corridor. He would have walked straight past it but he heard two familiar voices coming from inside the room, stopping him clean in his tracks. One pretty, and one cold and high pitched, making him shiver and feel squeamish . . .

"You wanted to see me?" the pretty voice said. Julius wasn't too sure whom that voice belonged to, but he knew for certain who owned the second voice.

"Yes, Alysia, please take a seat," Patton said. Although Julius couldn't see them, he imagined the professor gesturing toward a seat.

Julius peeked around the corner and saw what was happening. Alysia sat down in a chair in front of the desk. "What is it?" Alysia asked casually, as though talking to a friend . . . or a family member.

"I just wanted to know how you were doing, I suppose. It is your first day after all."

"Yeah, it's fun, I guess. Not quite as great as I imagined it, but it's all right. I made some friends and the classes are pretty good. Did you have to make us read today, though? That kinda stunk."

Patton chortled uneasily, almost as if fake. "Sorry, dear, but like I said, you need to get the general idea down first. Then you might be able to practice. Besides, though — we don't want any little brats actually learning anything. Not with what Tallinn has in mind."

"Aunt Mafalda, you —"

Julius stopped listening there. _Aunt Mafalda? _No wonder she and Alysia seemed to have had the same smile. Julius was unsure of what to think, but then again, what was there to be shocked about? It's not as if he had just found out Mafalda Patton was planning on destroying the school or anything crazy like that. He shook his head at himself. He was overreacting. That was it. Who really cared that Professor Patton had a niece at the school?

Suddenly, Julius heard footsteps approaching the door and quickly, but casually walked off in the direction of the Great Hall for dinner, just before Alysia stepped out of her Auntie's office.

"So, this Ravenclaw, Alysia is it? She's the niece of Professor Patton?" Sean asked.

Julius nodded vigorously. He took another bite of his vegetarian burger, which he held tenderly in his hands. He hadn't noticed it was vegetarian when he had grabbed it because he was too busy talking to Sean. Surprisingly, it tasted delicious to him. _The things they serve at this school_, he thought to himself.

Sean smiled at Julius. "What's so bad about that? You're going nuts about it, you know. It's not that big of a deal, you know. There could be plenty of people at this school that are related to someone working here."

Julius grimaced. "You know, I'm not entirely sure. I guess it's just that fact that they were talking in Patton's office, rather than some place more public, do you think? But she said she wouldn't be teaching us anything useful because someone named Tallinn has something planned."

Sean frowned. "That's weird. Tallinn doesn't sound like a real name to you, does it?"

"No."

"What about Madrid or Ankara?"

"Is this going somewhere?" Julius asked, "because I'd like to have time to work on my Defense homework before I go to bed. I've got Astronomy, too, y'know."

"Yeah, it's just that — hold on." Sean turned and rummaged around in his bag before coming back up with a sheet of crumpled parchment. "I found this when I got lost on the way to breakfast this morning — that's why I was late—and so far I haven't been able to make head or tail of it." He held it over the table for Julius to take.

"Weird . . . ," Julius muttered as he read it. He looked up to face Sean. "They almost sound like —"

"Codenames?" Sean offered. He took another bite of some mixed vegetables as he was handed back the note.

"Yeah," muttered Julius. "You don't suppose this has anything to do with this Tallinn person? I mean, since we've decided these aren't real names. Madrid could be someone inside the castle — Patton, maybe?"

"I dunno," Sean answered, trying to think hard on what it could mean. "Patton's mean, but she doesn't seem the type to do something evil, or something like that."

"You never know, Sean. Brooke says she's new, so maybe not much is known about her."

Sean glanced up curiously. "You talk to Brooke? Seems like I haven't had much of a conversation with her since I got here."

"Well, yeah." Julius sipped his tomato soup. "We're both Gryffindors, aren't we?"

Sean didn't answer. Though Julius was unaware, he still felt rather annoyed about not being in Gryffindor, but he made sure not to complain aloud. "I'm getting kinda tired. I think I'll go to bed, Julius — see you tomorrow." Without another word, he stood and walked from the Great Hall, having picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

Julius watched him leave, and then stood up as well. His friend seemed bothered by something, but Julius was unable to put his finger on what exactly it was. Grimacing, he walked from the Great Hall, seeing once he reached the Entrance Hall, that Sean was already long gone.

Lying in bed later that night, Julius found that he was unable to think. He was worried about Sean, but that didn't seem to really be what was bothering him in the forefront. Feeling as if he wouldn't fall asleep soon, he stood up from his bed and walked to the window. It had begun to rain once again, and the droplets pounded the glass of the window in front of him. It didn't seem to Julius like it would ever stop at all.

He squinted through the spray of precipitation, but it seemed impossible to make anything out with the dark and rain working together against his senses. Julius jumped as Alec gave a loud grunt and rolled over in his bed across the room. Shaking his head, he turned his head back to the window. Upon seeing nothing — almost as if expecting to see something — Julius turned to get back into bed, but before he looked away, something caught his eye through the murk.

A light swam through the murk, but disappeared after a few seconds. Blinking his eyes, Julius stared intently back out the window to see the light again, moving rather quickly. He followed its path for almost another minute before it finally disappeared for good.

Deciding that he must have been seeing things from lack of sleep, Julius turned and quickly got back into bed, pulling the covers up to his shoulders. _It was nothing_, he thought. The light that was nothing had been heading toward the village the Hogwarts Express had first arrived in.


	5. Tryouts

_**Novelisto's A/N: **__Hey Guys! Finally, Chapter 5 as promised. We are so sorry it's late, we just had a bit of writers block, Servant of Eliam had been busy and it's a bit difficult seeing as we live in two different countries_. _But enjoy anyway and thanks for waiting. We will have Chapter six up soon!_

_**Servant of Eliam's A/N: **__Yeah, well, it wasn't so much Novelisto as it was me getting lazy over the summer. And then in September. I figured I ought to give you something before I start National Novel Writing Month, which is only a week away. Hopefully we'll get Chapter Six up by Saturday._

_Year One: The Department of Mysteries_

By Novelisto

and Servant of Eliam

Chapter V: Tryouts

* * *

The week seemed to pass in a blur for the two friends, as their classes rushed along in an unrelenting manner. Though Brooke complained that her fifth year courses were much worse, Sean and Julius found themselves neck high in homework from each of their seven classes.

Astronomy, even though they only had it once a week, apart the midnight visits on Wednesdays, gave them a large stack of star charts. Transfiguration came with an essay about basic Transfiguring spells. Charms brought the assignment of practicing simple Charms, which, despite being easy enough, were still time consuming. All the others brought assignments of similar levels. It seemed hard for them to keep up on their schoolwork and sleep at the same time, but they managed it, thankfully.

Despite the load of homework, the two friends worried about other things. Saturday brought the arrival of Quidditch trials. The two friends talked excitedly at the Ravenclaw table about what they thought may happen, both wanting to join their respective house teams and bring their house to victory.

"I suppose if there aren't many people there I might have a good shot at it," said Julius, who had signed up to try out for the spot of Gryffindor Seeker. He had decided long ago at his first Quidditch match that Seeker was for him, after watching two of England's best go at it in the Britain Cup Final.

He continued. "Though Brooke said they didn't even allow first years to try out when she first came here." He swallowed his mouthful of potatoes. "I'm just happy they lifted that rule. You never know when new talent might come along," He smirked boastfully at Sean for a moment, but then turned back to his food.

Sean just grimaced uneasily. He'd signed up to try to fill the spot of Ravenclaw Keeper, which was left open along with two Chaser positions. It had simply seemed the best position for him, as he'd never tried Chaser. Even more so as the trials drew closer was the dread that he'd simply embarrass himself in front of half the House, which certainly seemed likely. He'd never played more Keeper than a few games over the summer with Brooke and a few of her friends, in which he'd never been more than ten or fifteen feet off the ground. The queasiness that the nervousness caused for him restricted him from eating more than a few bites of potato and a sip of pumpkin juice.

At a quarter to ten, they got up and walked out to the pitch, along with another fifteen Ravenclaw kids. Most, they noticed, were second and third years, coming back for a chance at redemption from their previous years of failure. Julius was the only Gryffindor among them, as their tryouts weren't until later that afternoon.

"Good luck," said Julius with a smile and a pat on the back as he headed off toward the stands high above to watch. He sat up next to Brooke, who had come to cheer on her brother. The mob of other students dragged Sean along and into the Quidditch stadium.

Sean, having only been to a couple of Quidditch matches before when he was younger, had forgotten how big the fields were. It stretched a decent distance in each direction from Sean's visual point by the centerline.

As the players with already secure positions on the team walked up with the Captain, Sean took a moment to realize that he had no broom. He noticed that most of the others didn't either, save for a few older students with some rather nice looking ones. Sean suddenly felt small and out of place compared to some of his competitors, already feeling discouraged and as if he should just head straight back up to the castle, but listened anyway as the Captain spoke.

"All right, everyone," he said, scanning the row of possibilities. "If this is everyone —"

He stopped as a small boy came running onto the pitch, his face red, and his hair disheveled. "I hope — I'm not — too late," he said, panting. He quickly added, "Sorry."

Sean noticed a couple of the players from the year before glance at each other and smirk. The Captain merely smiled politely and said, "'S no problem. Now, as I was saying, if this is everyone here, let's get going — the Slytherins have the pitch booked for eleven." He glanced at a few of the players without brooms. "Anyone that doesn't have a broom can get one from the shed; there are plenty of school brooms you can use."

Sean shuffled over toward the broom shed he had been directed to with about ten other Ravenclaws and pushed inside for a broom. He and the small boy that had been tardy were the last ones inside, by which time all of the decent brooms had been claimed.

The boy looked at their small selection and frowned. "Didn't leave us much to work with, did they?" Sean shook his head in agreement. "I'm Kolin," he added quickly before selecting a Cleansweep 11 and hurrying from the shack. Sean selected the best that was left — a Cleansweep 9 — and followed him from the shed.

"All right," said the Captain as Sean got back to the group. "We'll go ahead and start with the Keeper trials, so we know who'll be guarding against the Chasers. Anyone that signed up —" He gestured in the direction of the goalposts to his right. "— head that way."

Sean broke away from the group with about half a dozen others and headed for the goalposts. He felt like his legs would give out any second, due to his nervousness. As they walked, Sean noticed that he was the only first year in the group. This only discouraged him further.

The Captain followed and spoke. "To you all — though some of you may already know me — I'm Darrin Thomas, sixth year, and this year's Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. It's nice to see so many of you out here. Last year we had maybe six."

"For Keeper?" someone asked.

"Six, total," Darrin laughed. "Probably why we lost by three hundred points to Gryffindor in our last match." A few others gave half-hearted laughs as they reached the goalposts, which towered high above them.

Sean suddenly felt a lurch of queasiness that was usually like him. Maybe this hadn't been a great idea. He'd never been great with heights, and this wasn't exactly going to help. He realized they hadn't even had a flying lesson yet — the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had been scheduled to take their first the following Saturday. Once again, he felt like running straight back up to the castle, but it seemed foolish with Julius and everyone else watching, so he just got into line with the others. On that thought, he looked up at where Julius and Brooke were sitting and saw them give him a thumbs-up. He smiled weakly back at them and turned back to the Captain as he asked them to form a line. Everybody scrambled for the back of the line and pushed Sean forward.

"You're first then? Name?" Darrin asked, conjuring a clipboard.

"Erm — Sean Miller," Sean stuttered nervously. It was bad enough being the only first year there but being the first to try out?

"Okay, Sean," Darrin smiled encouragingly. "Let's see what you've got."

Sean smiled nervously back at him, having to put in more effort than usual to do so and mounted his broom.

Sean felt the blood rush from his face as his broom slowly rose, when suddenly his broom took off without warning, sending him forward and upward. Some laughed as he struggled to gain control, but after a few seconds, he straightened out and headed straight for the goalposts, finding it easier to control the Cleansweep as he rose. Despite his slight disliking of heights, this felt natural and under control to Sean, being in the air on a broom.

Sean's confidence heightened as he stopped in front of the center goalpost. Being on the broom felt good, almost as if he'd been riding for years. But the courage he'd gathered all crashed down as he saw the first Chaser fly toward him on her own broom with the scarlet Quaffle under her arm. As she neared, Sean panicked and flew entirely the wrong direction. Everyone watching save for his supporters alone in the stands roared with laughter.

The next three bouts didn't go well, either, as he completely missed the next one; he ducked out of the way of the second in fear of the strength of the throw; the third soared straight through his fingers. To his partial approval, he caught the last one on the tips of his fingers, but he didn't figure it would matter much anyway, as his chances were already long gone.

As he flew downward, the Captain came to meet him, to his surprise. But he was hardly there to congratulate him. Sean landed and dismounted in synchronization with the captain, who looked down at him.

"Maybe not the best trial," he said. "But you honestly didn't strike me as a Keeper, kid. If you weren't so tall, thin, and lanky, I'd have thought you a Chaser."

"Really? I've never played Chaser. My sister always made me play Keeper."

Darrin laughed. "Maybe you shouldn't let your sister make you play Keeper then — I honestly didn't think it was your spot. I dunno if _you _noticed."

Sean's ears burned red in embarrassment, but Darrin didn't seem to be making fun of him, really. He instead spoke in a friendly manner. "Why don't you stick around for the Chaser tryouts? I bet you'll do better. Just hang out until we finish the Keeper trials."

With that, Darrin flew off toward the goalposts to yell at a large sixth year trying for Keeper, who had gotten in an argument with a Chaser over a Quaffle that had seemingly curved away from the burly boy midflight. As far as Sean could see, the Chaser was holding her own quite all right.

Rather than returning his Cleansweep to the shed and walking back to the castle, Sean walked over to the remaining waiting Chaser hopefuls and stood with them. Kolin caught sight of him and rushed over. "What did the captain say?" he asked eagerly. "Are you gonna get another trial or something?"

Sean smiled uneasily. "I got invited back to try out for the Chaser trials. I don't see why —"

Kolin cut him off. "Yeah, you really didn't come off as much of a Keeper to me." Sean turned red again. "I wanted to try for Beater, but since there aren't any openings, I'm going for Chaser. Figure it's worth a shot."

"Really?" Sean felt more like going back up to the common room to start on the load of homework he'd been assigned, but he figured that as long as he was being given another shot he should stick around. But thought came to mind that he might just embarrass himself further. Had that been the only reason Darrin had asked him to stay around — to get an extra laugh? All he could hope was that he wouldn't do too horribly as Darrin flew back down to join the remainder of the group.

He'd apparently chosen the last person for Keeper, a rather small sixth year girl, because she was still lingering around the goalposts, waiting for the beginning of the Chasers' trials. "All right," he began.

Darrin gave the same speech he'd given to the Keepers, other than the instructions, of course. "You'll start out by going three at a time, passing the Quaffle between each other. From there, I'll narrow it down, and you'll get some more challenges. Now get into groups of three, would you?" Sean seemed to have been the only person paying attention, as everyone was simply milling about, chatting excitedly. "Oi!" Everyone looked up in surprise at the sudden, booming voice of the Captain. "Get into groups!"

They all obeyed and made groups of three. However, Sean and Kolin were left out, standing alone in the middle. Darrin noticed them and gestured them over. "You'll fly with Charlotte over there." He gestured to the girl that was already a secure Chaser on the team, having previously played for them. She saw them and grinned and pushed her long black hair from her eyes. "I s'pose you might as well go first. Good Luck, mate." Darrin patted him hard on the back

Sean was a little shocked at Darrin's decision. Go first, in front of all of these people . . . again? He'd surely mess up. Two first years and a girl that appeared to be a second or third year didn't seem ideal, either. But, reluctantly, he walked up with Kolin, keeping his head low as he went. Kolin, however, kept his head confidently high, as to possibly draw attention to himself.

Charlotte, who had been holding the Quaffle under her arm, mounted her broom as they approached and hovered a few feet off the ground, her feet dangling over the sides of her Nimbus 2000. Kolin and Sean mounted their slow and outdated brooms and took off with her.

After flying for about thirty feet, Charlotte positioned them in a formation, with her in the center and slightly in front of Kolin and Sean. She first threw the Quaffle to Sean, who, startled, caught it, despite it bouncing around in his hands for a few seconds. He then moved behind Charlotte to the center while she drifted to the right to take his spot. Getting the general idea, Sean tossed it to Kolin, though he immediately noticed it was too slow and not quite aimed right. Kolin had to slow and almost come to a complete stop to catch it, but immediately took off again when he caught it with ease, as Sean moved left to fill Kolin's spot.

Nearly immediately Sean noticed that Charlotte outshone them in talent, though that was to be expected seeing as she was on the team last year. But he immediately noticed that Kolin was better than Sean was. It seemed to Sean that Kolin would likely be chosen before him until Kolin let a perfect pass from Sean slip straight through his fingers, relieving Sean despite that his newest comrade had messed up.

An hour later, Sean sat in the library, sulking behind a large, dusty old book. He didn't feel like interacting with anybody. His trials had gone horribly, to put it nicely. The captain, afterwards, had said that he showed promise, though Sean would've said that he was simply being polite. Needless to say that his name wasn't listed upon the line-up when it was posted in the locker room just after they had finished, nor on the list of reserves.

Though he was deep into his book, hours later he was distracted, looking up to a sweaty and overjoyed Julius running toward him, while Madam Pince, the librarian, shot him a look of venom while she stared toward him with hatred in her eyes. Julius slowed his pace but only slightly.

"Guess what!" Julius half-shouted, resulting in a loud hush from the librarian. Lowering his voice, Sean's friend continued, "I made the team! I'm the new Gryffindor Seeker! I just caught the Snitch before this big fifth year. He got all mad and yelled and pushed the captain — it was intense!" Julius rambled on for another few minutes on everything that had happened, in extreme detail.

Sean, despite his reluctance to speak of Quidditch, managed a weak smile and replied, "That's great, Julius. I guess I'll have to root Gryffindor on now, won't I?"

"Why wouldn't you in the first place?" Julius smirked. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. I've promised Alec I'd celebrate with him in the common room. A few of the older students from the team went and got some Honeydukes candy and snuck in a barrel of pumpkin juice."

"Oh." Sean shook his head a moment. "Yeah, all right. See ya."

Julius gave his friend an apologetic smile before hurrying off towards his common room.

Despite his initial reluctance to human contact, Sean was disappointed to see his friend leave. His book, admittedly, had been rather boring, and he'd been itching to get up and do something. Closing his book and setting it back upon the shelf it had come from, Sean stood up and stretched his arms wide, drawing looks from surrounding students.

As he wandered the near empty corridors, Sean came to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing to do late on a Sunday afternoon in Hogwarts. But he stopped outside an empty classroom for a second, thinking he had heard something inside move...

Curious as he was, he pushed the door open and peeked inside. He'd expected to see some couple hiding out and snogging, or maybe Peeves the school Poltergeist, but instead he saw a girl. She had long black hair and looked to be Sean's age, and she seemed to be picking something up from a desk hastily.

To Sean's disliking, the door squeaked upon opening, which alerted the girl of his presence. She spun around in an instant with a glare on her face. "What the —? Get out of here!" she yelled at Sean. He realized that this was the Alysia girl Julius had talked about, the Ravenclaw with hair the color of a crow's feathers. "Get out!" she screamed again at Sean, who stood dumbfounded with his mouth hanging open.

It was then, when Sean didn't leave, that she marched toward the door with a look that could kill, which made Sean immediately duck back out and shut the door before taking off in a full sprint in the other direction.


	6. Halloween

_**Christopher Rain's A/N: **__Formerly Servant of Eliam, so you don't get confused. So it turns out the story's gonna continue. I mean, I love it, but I fell out of communication with Novelisto for a while, so there was a bit of hiatus. I wrote this chapter myself, but assuming I can get a hold of Novelisto soon, there might be some corrections._

_Also, for those of you who seem to like Sean better (as I gathered from a couple reviews), I find this unacceptable. It is inexcusable on the author's part to allow for such things so early into a story. I kinda realized that Julius wasn't expanded on enough yet, so I tried to make more of this chapter about him._

* * *

_Year One: The Department of Mysteries_

_by Novelisto_

_and Christopher Rain_

Chapter VI: Halloween

* * *

The months of September and October rushed by in a blur. Studies engrossed Sean well enough, but Quidditch practice made it even tougher for Julius — so much so that the two of them barely saw each other. Meal times and the few scattered classes that they had together constituted as the only periods of the day when they could socialize. Julius hardly even realized it when he woke up on Halloween morning that he was two months into his first year already.

At breakfast that morning, it felt to him like just another day of school. He was thinking more about the Potions essay that was due that day than the feast that they would enjoy later that night. All in all, nothing special popped out to him at first that day.

Until Sean sat down.

"I can't believe that it's Halloween already!"

Julius was slowly spreading jam on his toast, waiting for the owl post to come in. "What's the big deal?" he said, hardly up to an energetic conversation. He had had Quidditch practice for three hours the day before — he wasn't exactly up to pace on his sleeping. Sean, however — having no Quidditch obligations — had plenty of time to be ecstatic about the holiday.

"What's the big deal?" Sean repeated, confused at his friend's comment. "What's the big deal? Well, firstly, when we get out of afternoon classes we go to a huge feast like the one we had on our first day. Plus — check this out —" Sean turned and pulled a small paper bag out of his pocket, dumping the contents onto the tabletop. "Sweets." The table was littered with candies in shiny wrapping. Sean snatched up a butterscotch candy and began to unwrap it. "Help yourself," he told Julius, popping the candy into his mouth. "My parents sent me these, but they came in yesterday's post."

Julius, rather than taking any candy, took a bite of his toast. "Sorry. Not really in the mood."

"Man, what's gotten into you?" said Sean, sucking on the butterscotch.

Julius couldn't help but think of how they'd seemingly switched roles. The first day of school, he had been the talkative one, while Sean had been the quiet, observant one. Maybe it was just the stress of classes and Quidditch piled on top of one another.

Julius rubbed his temples. "I dunno — I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little tired is all. Quidditch is exhausting me."

"Brooke doesn't seem very tired to me," said Sean, munching on an apple. "And fifth year classes are supposed to be way harder, too."

"Yeah, well, she's been doing it for a few years already. Plus, have you seen how much coffee she drinks?"

"I dunno," said Sean, apparently pondering this. "I don't really talk to her a whole ton, now that I think about it. You know, different houses and all."

"Mm."

Sean sat there in silence for a moment. "Well, I probably should head off to Charms. Figure I can get there early and practice some." He stood up, scooping his candy back into the paper bag. "See you at lunch."

"See ya."

At the end of the day, having turned in his Potions essay, earned five points for Gryffindor in Herbology, and having generously received no further homework, Julius made his way down toward the Great Hall for his first Halloween feast.

Having spent a few minutes looking for his shoes in the common room, Julius was far behind the others. In the deserted corridor, he could easily take in the scenery. The suits of armor lining the walls had black and orange streamers strewn over them, and several of them now had pumpkins for heads, carved into jack o' lantern grins. Hogwarts seemed to really get into the spirit of Halloween.

Almost to the Great Hall, Julius could hear the noises of several hundred excited students filling the air. He was eager to get in and sit down, and couldn't wait for the food. He felt the happiest he'd felt in probably over a month. Julius could just imagine the different dishes on his tongue, could almost taste the different desserts in his mouth.

It was at the foot of the stairs that he heard it. Snickering. He almost thought it had been his imagination, just a trick of his mind — but no, there it was again. _Perhaps it's just a ghost_, he thought to himself. This wasn't exactly uncommon of them, to be frolicking about in search of a scare, especially on a night like this. But it was then that he heard footsteps. _Ghosts' feet don't make noise._

Hesitating, he decided to check it out. Rather than going toward the Great Hall, he turned the other direction, toward the basement, intent on investigating.

Sean Miller was running late to the feast, too. He'd lost track of his wand some point after the end of his last afternoon class. Convinced that he'd left it in Potions, Sean started to hurry down the Grand Staircase. He was already several minutes late to the feast, and, though he figured that it probably wouldn't make much of a difference how no matter late he was, Sean didn't want to miss out on the food.

Jumping the last four steps, he started running in the direction of the dungeons, hoping that he was correct in his prediction, meanwhile not noticing that a certain Alysia Becker was silently following him.

Mafalda Patton strutted purposefully out of the Great Hall. When Professor Longbottom had mentioned to her that a few students appeared to be missing, she hadn't taken this as anything serious. But when she noticed that her own niece was not among the Ravenclaws, she grew suspicious.

Excusing herself, she had gotten up from the staff table and proceeded to cross to the other side, exiting through the large oak doors on the other side. The students had hardly taken notice of her.

Looking around the entrance hall for any sign of trouble, Professor Patton couldn't help but think that perhaps her niece was getting up to some sort of mischief — the Ravenclaw boy named Sean had also been missing from his table. That didn't seem like Alysia, though. She was such an obedient child — how she might ever rise to any position of power in this world confounded the professor.

Her eyes reached the corner of the hall, and found the corridor that led down to the basement, where the kitchens were. And she heard plodding footsteps. It sounded as if someone were running.

Without hesitation, she took off down the corridor — there was no other exit. Whoever they were, they had no escape now.

The dungeon corridor was brighter than Sean remembered. Usually, they were rather dimly lit by the torches that lined the walls. However, the corridor seemed rather bright today, giving a feeling of warmth that the dungeons didn't generally radiate. Also, he didn't seem to be going as deep under the castle as he generally felt when he descended to Potions class.

As he reached the end of the corridor, Sean realized something was up. This wasn't the way he remembered the dungeons. In fact, he wasn't even sure these were the dungeons at all. The dungeons didn't have portraits of food on the wall, and —

"What are you doing?"

Sean turned around, but the question wasn't directed at him. Then, he noticed the portrait on the wall. The picture was of a bowl of fruit, and it was hanging wide open.

Peeking his head around, he saw something he couldn't believe.

Elves — house-elves to be exact. Teeming about the large room, preparing different dishes at tables around the room. Ovens were scattered in between, preparing who-knew-what. Plates of food were floating up from the center table to what Sean figured was the Great Hall above.

And then there was Julius — and Liam Spencer, the Slytherin second-year. They were on the other side of the room, apparently arguing over something, though the clatter of cooking utensils, along with bustling house-elves made it impossible for Sean to hear anything they were saying. The house-elves themselves looked as though they couldn't be bothered with the two quarrelling boys, as they were obviously too caught up in preparing the food for the feast.

Sean was sneaking across the room, trying to get close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I just don't get _why_ you need to get in my way!" shouted Liam. "It's just a harmless prank, _and_ I'd be back upstairs in time to see it if you weren't in my way."

"A harmless prank? Bats coming out of all the dessert is just gonna give the older teachers a heart attack and if we don't leave _now_ you're gonna get _both_ of us in trouble."

From what Sean gathered, Julius had caught Liam in the middle of a Halloween prank. Maybe if Sean could join Julius, Liam was would see that he was outnumbered and call it off. He was about to walk up, when —

"Hey, Sean!"

This time it was directed at him. Sean turned — and so did Julius and Liam. And the house-elves. Standing in the entrance to the kitchen was Alysia. "What's going on?" she said.

"Alysia?" said Sean.

"Sean?" said Julius.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Mafalda Patton clapped a hand down on Alysia's shoulder. "Students not where they're supposed to be? I think that perhaps we have some mischief at hand here."

"What —" Alysia never got to finish her sentence.

"Good work, Alysia. You can return to the feast now if you wish."

"But I —"

"I _said_ that you can return to the feast."

Alysia looked defeated. With one last glance at the three boys in the kitchen, she turned and hurried off.

Julius spoke first. "Professor, I was just —"

"I don't want to hear it. You're not letting your friends take the fall for you. You all will serve detentions, whether you like it or not. Now, follow me to my —"

She was cut off by a chorus of screams from above — students fretting as Liam's prank took off. Liam couldn't help but snicker.

Professor Patton's voice got so low that Sean had to strain to hear her at first.

"_Get to my office NOW!_ I am_ extremely_ disappointed in all of you."

Julius had never been sent to a teacher's office. Though he knew it wasn't always bad, he was sure he was in trouble now. What would his parents say if they found out?

It was when Liam started telling his side of the story that Julius lost any remaining hope that there might be any shred of decency in the Slytherin boy.

"It was Julius and Sean's prank. I followed them down to the kitchens, figuring something was up. Being the second year I am, I told them that that's just not what we do at Hogwarts, but Julius said he didn't care, so I tried to hold him back, but that's when Alysia walked in."

"That is so not true!" shouted Julius, jumping up.

"_Sit_, Mr. Virdo," spat the professor. "You may tell your side of the story now, but keep in mind that I am not ready to believe it."

"Fine," said Julius, retaking a sitting position. He sighed. "I _was_ heading toward the Great Hall for the feast, like everyone else, but I heard _Liam_ here heading down toward the basement, so I followed him."

"And why didn't you simply alert a staff member of the shenanigans?"

"I didn't think —"

"Let me stop you there," said Professor Patton. "You _didn't think_. Simple as that."

Julius was dumbfounded. Why was he not getting any support from Sean? Regaining composure, he said, "Well, I didn't _know_ that it was at Liam at the time. I'd thought maybe it was just a ghost or something at first."

"So why follow it in the first place, then?"

"I —" Julius couldn't continue. He didn't have an answer.

"So where does Mr. Miller fit into all of this?"  
Sean, who had been completely silent up to this point, took a moment before speaking. "I was the one who told Julius we should check it out. I was with him at the time. He didn't want to. He'd said we would get in trouble. I dragged him along."

"So it was your fault you two were down there."

Sean gave a shaky nod. "But I swear neither of us were involved in the prank. That was all Liam."

If he had been shocked before, Julius was even more so now. Sean was seriously telling her that it was his fault, when it most certainly wasn't. Julius wasn't even sure how Sean had ended up in the kitchens in the first place.

"Mm-hmm. I see." Professor Patton stood up from behind her desk, just as Professor McGonagall walked in.

"You called, Mafalda?"

"Yes," she said. "I assume you were around to witness the horror we had at dessert time?"

"I most certainly was. I would take a gander that these three boys here had something to do with it," said the headmistress.

"I'm not sure. One or two or all three of them might have. Their stories don't exactly agree. I might suggest that some veritaserum might do the trick to weed out the correct one."

"I don't think that should be necessary. Just repeat to me their stories, if you would, please."

And so the professor did, repeating them exactly as she had been told.

Professor McGonagall took several minutes to consider what she had been told. Nervousness coursed through Julius when she spoke her decision.

"I think that considering we've had some, er, _trouble_ with Mr. Spencer in the past, I should think that it was his prank that was pulled tonight. I would be very shocked should it have been Mr. Virdo or Mr. Miller. So fifty points from Slytherin for this. But I do not think Mr. Virdo or Mr. Miller should have been in the kitchens, either, so ten points from Ravenclaw, assuming Mr. Miller's story is accurate. And I would advise you both to stay out of Mr. Spencer's way in the future, and the same goes for you, Mr. Spencer. There will be no further punishment, however."

"But, Headmistress, do you not think some detention is in order —?"

"Mafalda, please. That will be the last of it. My decision shall be final, for now. But if I hear of any more trouble from any of you three, detention will certainly be where you find yourselves."

"Yes, ma'am," said the three boys in unison.

"You may go back to your common rooms, now, and do get some sleep. Be reminded that you have classes tomorrow."

The three of them stood up as the headmistress exited. As they reached the door, Liam shoved past Julius, muttering, "Thanks a lot," as he went, a scowl on his face.

"Don't mind him," said Sean, walking beside Julius in the corridor. "He's just angry he got caught."

Julius stopped.

"What?" asked Sean, as he turned to face Julius.

"Why did you take the fall for me? What were you even doing down there anyway?"

Sean shrugged. "I lost my wand somewhere — I'm sure it'll turn up. I was only down there 'cause I'd gotten confused and thought that was the corridor to the dungeons. Then I saw the portrait hanging open, and when I saw you fighting with Liam inside the kitchen, I figured I could help you out. Then Alysia and the professor showed up."

"But you didn't have to take the punishment."

"Hey, it's just ten points. I bet if I try real hard I can get them back tomorrow in class."

"Sure, but . . . well, now I owe you one, don't I?" said Julius.

"Don't sweat it. We're friends, right?"

Julius nodded, and they parted ways, each heading back toward their common room, each having endured more than they'd hoped for that night.


	7. Quidditch

_**Christopher Rain's A/N: **__This was probably my favorite chapter to write yet, since Quidditch sequences are probably my favorite to write. And I got a whole chapter out of Julius, too. Also, it may seem as if a certain commentator may be based on another . . ._

* * *

_Year One: The Department of Mysteries_

_by Novelisto_

_and Christopher Rain_

Chapter VII: Quidditch

* * *

The school having calmed down significantly after the bats-in-the-dessert incident at Halloween, most of the students' attention refocused on the first match of the Quidditch season, being the centuries-old classic rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Despite Professor McGonagall's warning to Julius and Sean to stay out of Liam Spencer's path, Liam went out of his way almost every day to take out his anger on them. Throwing wadded-up pieces of paper, trying to trip them, or even go as far as to Hex them, while at the same time making sure no teacher was watching.

Alysia took several attempts to apologize to them — Sean in particular (probably considering that he was the only one that was punished). She kept on giving her sincerest apologies, even though Sean had told her he didn't think it was her fault after the first. Either way, she certainly seemed friendlier towards them now. So much so, that she ended up sitting with Sean and Julius at the Gryffindor table on morning of the match.

Julius was sitting with his team, as was tradition for them, but was sitting on the end so that Sean and Alysia were able to sit next to and across from him.

"Good luck today," said Alysia, grabbing some toast from the platter at the center of the table. "I mean, since Ravenclaw's not playing, I'll be rooting you guys on. Slytherin is a bunch of losers, anyway."

"Not all of them can be that bad, can they?" said Sean, biting into an apple wedge.

Alysia didn't speak for a minute, so Sean started to think that she'd been serious. Until he looked at her and saw her snickering.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to get her giggles under control. "It's just your American accent. It's so _ridiculous_. I just can't get used to it."

"Accent?" said Sean, looking almost offended. "If anyone, you're the one with the accent."

"I'm sorry, Sean, but I think you're a little outnumbered. In a school that's primarily composed of British people, _in_ Britain, mind you, I think that you're the one that gets labeled with the accent."

"If you say so," said Sean, grabbing another apple wedge. "What do you think, Julius?" He'd noticed the Seeker hadn't spoken in a few minutes. Or had he ever spoken at all? It had been a lot of Sean and Alysia doing the talking, Sean noted.

Julius shrugged. He hadn't eaten any of the eggs and bacon on his plate, and almost looked like he might be sick to the stomach. And not for the same reason that Sean would feel sick to his stomach had there been eggs and bacon decorating his breakfast plate.

"You all right, man?" said Sean.

Julius nodded. Then shook his head to indicate he wasn't. And then nodded again.

"So what is it?"

"Will I — will I be good enough?" he asked, in almost a whisper.

Brooke apparently heard this, from her spot next to him, and she turned from her conversation with her other teammates to face him. "Eat up, will you? You can't be an awesome Seeker without at least eating something."

"I just don't think —"

"Your job isn't to think, it's to seek, all right?" Brooke said encouragingly. "First years on Quidditch teams are a rare thing at Hogwarts. Usually it means that they're pretty damn good — I mean, except in Liam Spencer's case. Julius, you're the first first-year Seeker at Hogwarts since Harry Potter himself. You'll be great."

"You think so?"

"I know so, all right?"

"That was probably the most inspiring thing I've heard all year," said Sean, as Brooke turned back to her previous conversation.

"She's right you know," said Alysia. "I mean, if the Captain had enough trust in you to put you as the Seeker, he obviously thinks you've got some skill."

"Yeah, that's right." Sean hesitantly handed him another slice of bacon. "Come on, eat."

And so Julius took a bite, bringing on a round of applause from Sean and Alysia. "That's the spirit," said Sean, as he picked up a piece of toast. "You're gonna win."

"If you say so."

* * *

"All right, team, this is it. The game we've been preparing for — for the last two months, now." The Gryffindor Quidditch team was sitting in the locker room, looking up at their Captain, the tall seventh-year boy named Alan Scott. "If you're not ready by now, then you're never going to be ready. We _can_ beat this team, and we _will_ beat this team. Just like we did last year. We have three amazing Chasers —" He gestured to Brooke and the two boys sitting on either side of her. "— two awesome Beaters — I mean, including me, that is."

"Always with the big head, Alan," said Brooke with a smirk.

Ignoring her, he continued. "One great Keeper in Sarah over here, and, of course, our prodigy Seeker over here, Julius Virdo." The entire team cheered, and Julius had to suppress a grin. "So there's no reason we can't go out and beat those halfwits by five-hundred points again."

Brooke raised her hand. "Actually, I think it was five-hundred-and-ten, to be exact."

"Yeah, whatever, Brooke."

"Just don't want you to forget that awesome number."

"Let's get out there, then, guys. Win one for everybody in Gryffindor!"

They hurried down the tunnel and onto the pitch, to the applause of almost three houses worth, and the booing of the Slytherin house. A moment later, the Slytherin team walked out from the other side of the field, and the cheering and booing reversed. Something told Julius that Slytherin had made a bad reputation for itself over the years. Even if Professor McGonagall had said once that all Houses were equally important to the school.

"Players, mount your brooms!" shouted Madam Hooch, as she prepared to open the crate in the middle of the field. The fourteen Quidditch players did as they were told.

Julius mounted the Nimbus 2000 that his parents had sent in when they found out he'd made the Quidditch team, and then kicked off. As high-class of a broom as this had been fifteen years ago, it had dropped to well within his parents' price range by now. Now it was almost standard, as most of the Gryffindors had them. Somewhere, he remembered reading that Harry Potter had started off on a Nimbus 2000. If he was so much like Harry Potter in talent, then hopefully this could translate into his play as well.

In the center of the field, Madam Hooch released the two Bludgers, the iron balls that could take your head off if you didn't watch them closely. Thankfully, he had Alan and Michael Smyth to guard him from those.

And, finally, she released the Golden Snitch. This was really, as Alan put it, the only ball Julius should worry about today. Even _if_ he was pretty worried about those Bludgers. They'd never practiced with the Bludgers, so he had never actually played with them flying around. Sure, he had played Quidditch when he was younger with his cousin and friends, but they'd always just used apples or something along that line for Bludgers. Never anything live.

And so Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and tossed the Quaffle into the air, for anyone. So the match began.

Brooke immediately swooped in and snatched the scarlet ball up, and took off toward the Slytherin goalposts, where Liam Spencer was waiting. Alert as he was, he seemed like he would be ready for anything.

And then proceeded to have Brooke score on him off a great pass from Trevor Greene. He looked furious as he went to retrieve the Quaffle, screaming at his players about terrible defending. Even though he had been the one to let the Quaffle slip through his fingers and through the ring.

Within five minutes, Gryffindor scored six more goals, extending their lead to seventy points. It was then that Julius realized he'd been just watching the game — he was as much of a spectator as Sean was. He hadn't been looking for the Golden Snitch in the slightest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Will Ford circling the field, obviously on the same hunt for the Snitch that Julius should have been on at the moment. Taking a different approach, he used the great vision that he'd always had, and flew up above the action, and took his time looking down on the field, searching for that glint of gold that might send him on his search.

A roar of cheers erupted from the stands — Gryffindor had scored again. According to the scoreboard above the commentator's stand, that made it eighty to zero. For a moment, he listened in on the commentary.

"A fabulous shot by the rather stunning Brooke Miller puts Gryffindor up eight goals now," said a boy Julius recognized as Jacob Lee, a fifth-year Gryffindor boy. He was apparently the one who did the commentating for the Hogwarts Quidditch matches. "Not looking too hot for Slytherin right about now, to be honest — I mean, who would want them to win in the first place, anyw —"

"Jacob!" said Professor McGonagall sharply from her spot next to him. Her voice resonated throughout the stadium. "You are here to give the play-by-play — not your biased opinion on which team should or should not be doing well."

"Yes, Professor — oh, and a spectacular tackle by Greene, taking it away from Fletcher of the Slytherin team. Passes to Miller, who passes back — ooh, almost got hit with that Bludger. Watch it, Wolfe! That's our star Chaser!"

"Jacob!" hissed McGonagall.

"Oh, right. Anyway, a great pass to Miller — now to Ryan — back to Miller, and now over to Greene — he scores!"

Ninety to zero in Gryffindor's favor, now. Things were looking good, but that score wouldn't hold if Julius let Will Ford catch the Snitch before he did — and that was when Will went into a dive. Julius' heart skipped a beat, and he took off as well, but it looked as though Will had a huge head start.

"What's this?" said Jacob Lee, sounding about as shocked as Julius had been. "It looks as though Ford has sighted the Snitch — oh, come on, Virdo!"

In the moment of surprise, the Slytherin Chaser Gunnar Meriwether scored, bringing them their first points of the game. Rather than watching the ensuing chase, the rest of the players refocused on the game, even if everyone else in the stadium was watching the chase.

Julius was far behind Ford, but he was gaining quickly — he'd seen Ford mount a Swift Streak. Even though they made nice brooms, the Swift Streaks weren't near as quick as the Nimbus brand racing brooms. Soon enough, Julius was right behind him, and he got his first sight of the Snitch. Small as it was, it was pretty obvious, only about twenty feet ahead of Will now. Julius leaned even farther forward on the Nimbus, now pulling even with the Slytherin Seeker. They were gaining fast. Fifteen feet away. Ten feet. Five. Julius was just beginning to stretch his arm — as was Will — when he nearly had his head taken off by a Bludger.

Pulling back immediately, he almost slid of the front of his broom, only just managing to stay on. Will Ford halted as well, as the same Bludger had nearly taken off his head, too.

"What was that for?" Will screamed in the direction of Alan Scott, who was on the other end of the field. He seemed to be under the impression that one of the Gryffindor Beaters had sent it their way in an attempt to throw him off the chase. But it was Julius that noticed Charles Wolfe snickering, as he reentered himself into the game.

Julius shook his head, the Snitch now having made itself lost again, and flew up above the action like last time. The scoreboard now read one-hundred to forty in favor of Gryffindor. The Gryffindor team seemed to have lost its edge in the commotion, and were now playing a more defensive game.

"Bad luck — Virdo didn't get the Snitch," said Jacob up in the commentator's stand. "But it's still out there, meaning the game's still on." The Slytherin portion of the stands erupted into cheers as they scored another goal. One-hundred to fifty now. They were slowing down. Julius needed to catch the Snitch soon.

"Brooke Miller makes a nice pass over to Ryan — ooh, it slips through his fingers. Unlucky — but Miller steals it back from Meriwether. Heading toward the goalposts now — looks like she might take it all the way there on her own, even! Meriwether and Cook approaching fast, though — Wolfe sends a Bludger her way — watch out! Yes! It hits Cook instead!"

"Jacob!"

"Sorry, professor — I mean, too bad, Wolfe. Miller slips under a Bludger from Colby Nicks, takes it toward the goalpost — she scores! Gryffindor's back!"

Julius, meanwhile, was up above the action once again, peering down on the field, more concentrated than ever. Ford was back to circling the field, looking for any sign of the Snitch. It was one-thirty to fifty, Gryffindor having got their groove back once again, when Julius saw it. The Snitch was hovering right over Liam, at the center Slytherin goalpost. He shot off immediately — the Slytherin Seeker was on the other side of the field. He easily had the head start.

As soon as he got within fifty feet, the Snitch took off too, and Julius nearly had to do a complete one-eighty in midair, as he turned around — the Snitch was leading him directly into the line of play!

Will Ford had apparently seen what was going on, and had taken off too. He weaved to one side, narrowly avoiding one of his team's Chasers, just as Julius had to duck to avoid a Bludger. The players cleared the way now, letting them have the center of the pitch as they raced toward the Snitch, only trying to get there before the other — it would certainly be close. Even though they were on a crash course, Julius held firm, eyeing nothing but the small Golden ball. He was close now, stretching out his arm and leaning forward, just as Will was doing — and then he tried something he'd never attempted in practice, something he'd never even dreamed of pulling off.

Rather than crashing into Will, Julius did a barrel roll, making a wild swipe at the Golden Snitch as he did so, and let the other Seeker fly straight over him. In the same motion, he came back up to the upright position — with the Snitch safely in his left hand!

Wherever he was, Julius heard Charles Wolfe swear loudly, and then throw his Beater's bat to the ground in disgust.

Realization slowly came to him — they had won! The game was over, and he had secured a large victory over the Slytherin team! In no time at all, he was swarmed by his teammates, patting him on the back, hugging him — even a kiss on the cheek from Sarah Brady, their Keeper. Julius was red in the face, and, as his teammates dispersed to help catch the Bludgers for Madam Hooch, he heard the steady roar of applause and cheers from the stands behind him.

In the front row was Sean, sitting next to Alec. Next to him was Kolin McCreery, a Ravenclaw first-year. They were all, like everyone around them, cheering enthusiastically for Julius, clapping loudly.

Something told Julius he could get used to this.

* * *

The party in the Gryffindor common room that night was probably the wildest one that Julius had ever experienced. Someone smuggled in over a hundred bottles of butterbeer, along with a vat of pumpkin juice, and sweets of all sorts covered the center table. He was about to help himself to something called a canary cream, when Alan Scott caught his hand.

He laughed. "You probably don't want to do that. Trust me. Maybe a chocolate frog instead?"

"I've never tried one before. What's it do?"

"Well, actually — here, watch."

A first-year girl had picked one up, and popped it in her mouth. Almost immediately, she turned into a rather large canary, making Julius jump back a step. But just as quickly, she molted her feathers, and was back to normal. Laughing along with everyone else, she walked off to talk with friends.

"It's neat, I suppose," said Alan, "but a bit of a surprise if you've no idea what'll happen."

"Er, thanks, I guess."

"No problem. About today's game," he said to Julius, as they headed toward a deserted corner of the common room, "I really think you're talented. I mean, I picked you 'cause you were the best to try out, but honestly, I think you might be the best Seeker at Hogwarts. I mean, yeah, Lexie Norton from Ravenclaw isn't too bad, to be honest, but she's not got as good of a broom as you have. I really think that with a couple years' practice, there won't be anyone that can beat you. I mean, sure, I won't be here next year, since I'll have graduated, but when Brooke takes over as Captain next year, Gryffindor might be unstoppable. I guess what I'd like to ask you is if you'd be willing to put in just an hour more per week to get better, of just Seeker training, y'know. It'd really help you, I think."

"I dunno," muttered Julius, thinking about how little time he had for homework already. He knew that if his grades slipped too far behind, he wouldn't be allowed to play Quidditch in the first place. But if it meant he might get better as a player . . .

"Just think about it, all right, bud?" said Alan. He turned to go rejoin the party, but Julius put a hand out to stop him.

"All right. I'll do it."

"That's the spirit!" said Alan with a grin. And so he turned and rejoined the older half of the Quidditch team, constituting of Brooke, Sarah, and Trevor, and laughed as he joined their conversation.

_Maybe he's right_, thought Julius. _I mean, I did do a pretty good job out there today. If I could keep that up . . ._ Julius couldn't help but think about winning the Quidditch Cup, not just this year, but also every other year. Seven-time Hogwarts Quidditch champion sounded pretty good to him. It definitely seemed plausible, if he was as good as Alan thought he was.

He thought of Mitchell Conner, the Seeker for his favorite Quidditch team back home, the Victoria Vipers. How he'd led the Vipers to five straight league championships in the last decade, and earned himself a spot on the Australian national Quidditch team that went to the World Cup semifinals in 1998. He was slowing down a bit now, at thirty-six years old, but was still putting out spectacularly.

As he lay in bed that night, he couldn't help but think of himself as Mitchell Conner. Starting his career young, and making a name for himself early on. Sure, he didn't want to get a big head . . . but who needed to worry about that when you were winning?


	8. Brainwashing And the Like

_**Christopher Rain's A/N:**__Considering that the last chapter and half were basically Julius, this chapter is probably gonna be Sean's, for the most part, but it won't be totally his, I'm guessing. Who knows where it might take me, considering I'm writing this even before I've started writing the actual chapter._

_**Novelisto's A/N:**____Now I'm finally back everybody and here's Chapter 8! Since I'm writing my A/N after I've read the chapter, I can safely say you'll enjoy this chapter very much!_

_Year One: The Department of Mysteries_

_by Novelisto_  
_and Christopher Rain_

Chapter VIII: Brainwashing (and the Like)

When Julius mentioned his plans for extra training to Sean the next morning at the Gryffindor table, Sean seemed to think it was a great idea, and even encouraged Julius. "I'm just worried about my classes," he told Sean. "I still have to keep up with my grades, you know."

"No problem," said Sean. "I can help you out. I mean, all you have to do is ask."

"You mean it?" said Julius, a little surprised at the offer. "You _do_ have to do your homework, too."

"Oh, that's not too tough," he said with a laugh. "I don't have Quidditch practice every day like a certain Quidditch star sitting across from me right now."

Julius laughed. Although Sean's offer had taken him by surprise, it managed to cheer him up. Sean was truly a great friend to him. "So, when can I get help, then?"

Sean took a bite of toast, considering. "I could help you this afternoon, I guess. Anything in particular?"

"Well, yeah," admitted Julius. "Actually, I'm having a little trouble writing my History of Magic essay. The one on goblin regulations that were laid down in the thirteenth century." Shaking his head, he sheepishly added, "I kinda fell asleep in class on Thursday, and missed the notes. I need to work on paying attention."

"Oh, yeah, I've got those. That gives me an idea, though," said Sean. "On Thursdays, y'know, when we have Double History of Magic — I could let you sleep, and then just copy the notes over for you."

Julius yawned. The party had lasted well into the night, taking up time he, honestly, couldn't help but think could have been using for homework. When he'd finally gone to bed at some time after one, he'd simply glanced at the parchment on his desk before slipping under the covers. "Yeah, okay, sounds like a great idea! You're really up to it, though?"

"Yeah, it's no problem, man."

"Seems like you're doing a lot for me, though, recently. I mean, lying to Patton for me, motivating me with Quidditch, and now helping me with homework . . . surely there's got to be something I can do in return."

Sean frowned. "No, you don't . . ." He paused for a long while, chewing on some toast. Swallowing, he looked back up to Julius. "Well, maybe . . . Okay, so I was thinking, well, what if on days — like weekends, maybe — when neither of us has any homework to catch up on, we could go out to the Quidditch pitch, and just . . . practice. Y'know, just the two of us. Maybe Brooke, too, if she's up to it. I figure that if I can get better, I might have a pretty good shot of making the Ravenclaw Quidditch team next year, since two of the Chasers are seventh years. I mean, if Chaser is where I probably fit best . . ."

"I dunno," muttered Julius. "I mean, _helping_ the _competition_? What would Alan say to that? What would Brooke say? What would everyone else on the team say?"

Sean's shoulders drooped. "Oh. I'm sorry. I — I didn't think of —"

Julius cut him off with a burst of laughter. When Sean looked up, he said, "I'm just kidding, mate. I'd be glad to help you out. It'd be pretty awesome to get to play against you next year."

"You think so? I'm hoping I can get a new broom for next year, at least. I mean, the one I have at home is my sister's old Cleansweep. I'm hoping for maybe a newer Nimbus, like the 2002, or something not too expensive. I mean, the 2005 is fast, and almost as fast as a Firebolt . . . but still way out of my family's price range."

"Surely it's not that expensive. I mean, yeah, it's a little better than standard, but it shouldn't be that bad . . . right?"

Sean frowned. "We're not too well off. Yeah, we get by all right, but we're a bit in debt. My dad went to a Muggle college, y'know, and his parents weren't too well off, either. And so he applied for what they call student loans, where the government or something like that pays for your college, and you pay them back gradually. He's still in debt, so a big portion of his paycheck goes to them every month."

"Oh," muttered Julius, noting how Sean avoided the word poor. "Well, fair enough, then, I guess. Maybe you can save up some money, then."

"Yeah, I suppose. Maybe I could get a job over the summer. Delivering papers or something."

"That sounds like a real bore," slurred a voice that wasn't originally part of their conversation. Alysia had taken a seat next to Sean. "I mean, don't they have owls for that?"

"Not for Muggles," scoffed Sean, shaking his head.

"We could get you a job in the wizarding world, it'll be more fun. Maybe something in Diagon Alley?" Julius suggested.

"I dunno. We'll have to see." Sean shrugged. "Anyway, what's up, Alysia?"

"Oh, not much," she said, taking a bite of some toast. "Just thought I'd congratulate you on a game well played yesterday, Julius."

"Er, thanks," he muttered. Julius had never much liked Alysia to begin with, and now she was acting as if they were good friends. He felt like he couldn't trust her. "Erm, any other reason?"

Alysia shrugged. "No, not really."

"Oh. Well, okay, I guess." At that moment, Julius got up and left, saying he'd see Sean in the library later that afternoon. Sean and Alysia sat in silence for a minute, before Sean ended up saying, "I think I'd probably better head back up to the common room."

Alysia quickly jumped up from her seat. "I'll go with you!"

"Er, okay."

And so the two of them walked in what was basically silence, up the grand staircase. As they turned off on the correct floor, they found themselves deserted in the corridor leading off in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room. Sean decided he'd get what he had been thinking off his mind.

"Alysia, I don't think Julius likes you too much."

Alysia stopped. "What?"

"I mean, I think you're all right. I don't mind hanging out with you. But Julius . . . I think he's wondering if — if you, er, have any other friends? I mean, you and I can hang out in the common room, but he doesn't really seem to like having you around a whole lot."

"No," she murmured, looking almost distraught.

"You don't think he —?"

"No, I don't have any other friends." She looked almost like she was holding back tears. She saw a bench off to their right, and walked over to it, sitting down on it with her head in her hands. "When everybody found out Patton is my aunt, they stopped talking to me. Nobody let's me even sit with them at meals. I just figured —" She choked back a sob. "— I just figured that you guys didn't mind me so much." She let a tear run down her cheek.

Sean suddenly felt guilty. No friends? Sure, he didn't hang out with many people, but at least he had Julius, and he still occasionally hung out with Kolin McCreery and even his sister sometimes.

He looked down at her. "I'm — I'm sorry. I didn't realize —"

"No, I'm sorry," she muttered. "Sorry I made you see me cry. I feel so embarrassed." She wiped away what wetness there was in her eyes, and looked up at him. "At least you understand. I guess the ironic part is my aunt doesn't like you at all. She says so."

Sean chuckled. "I figured as much, really."

"So you're okay with me, then?"

"I think you're pretty all right," Sean agreed.

Alysia stood back up. "I guess I'll just stay out of Julius' way."

"That might work." Sean rocked back and forth slightly, unsure of what next to say. "Er, I have a little time before I'm supposed to meet Julius in the library. Do you wanna hang out or something? Maybe play chess?"

Alysia's previously sullen look brightened. "Yeah, I'd love to!" So they headed off toward the common room with Alysia speaking enthusiastically, barely leaving any time for Sean to get in a comment. And thus began what would likely be a long and rather unfortunate friendship.

The realization that Sean was Alysia's only friend led to him letting her hang around more often, despite how much it annoyed Julius. After Sean explained to him Alysia's situation, he was still skeptical.

"I just don't get why we have to be the ones to be friendly to her. Her aunt hates us," said Julius, crossing his arms. Scowling, he added, "Plus, she's —"

"Just call it part of paying me back," Sean pleaded. "For the homework help."

Julius sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to change Sean's mind. "Fine. But don't expect me to be actually friendly towards her."

"Oh, come on," scoffed Sean. "You don't even know her that well."

"I know well enough to stay away from her."

And that's when Alysia walked in. They had been sitting in the library, working on their Potions essay about antidotes to herbal poisons, and had almost finished.

"Hey, guys!" she said, taking a seat at their table. The volume of her voice earned her a loud shush from Madam Pince. "It _is_ a pretty nice day, you know. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to go outside, before the cold sets in."

"You're right, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," agreed Sean, tucking his parchment into his book and shutting it. "Besides, this isn't due until Monday, Julius."

"I don't think so," said Julius coldly. "I'd rather get this done with _now_, so I don't have to worry about it later. Plus, I have Quidditch practice in an hour."

Sean shrugged. "If you say so." He pointed toward the door. "_I_ am going outsi —"

Before he could finish the word, a loud crack of thunder ripped through the air, and rain started to patter on the window. In seconds, it was a downpour.

Alysia giggled. "Looks like you're not having Quidditch practice now."

Julius imitated Alysia's giggle sarcastically. "Looks like you won't be going outside," he said in a bad imitation of her. "You have no idea," Julius muttered, reverting back to his normal voice. "Alan lives for this kind of weather. We'll be out there extra long if he thinks it will 'prepare us for any weather so that we can leave the other houses in the dust.'" Julius again did a bad imitation, this time of his team's captain. "I don't even know what dust has to do with training in the weather!"

Madam Pince uttered a loud shushing noise in their direction, and Julius murmured, "Sorry."

When Sean and Alysia had left the library, they continued their conversation. "I wouldn't have a problem with this," admitted Sean. "I love rain."

"Really? Me too!" said Alysia, laughing. "When I was little I used to go out and splash in the puddles every time even a drop touched the earth."

Sean grinned, and gestured in the general direction of the Grand Staircase. In his best British accent, he said, "Shall we take a walk?"

"I think we shall," said Alysia, stepping forward to take the lead.

"She's brainwashing you, mate!"

Julius and Sean were sitting at dinner. Alysia hadn't shown up, opting instead to go wash up after their walk through the rainstorm. They had gotten quite muddy in the puddles that had formed. Sean was still soaking wet, his somewhat long hair hanging straight down, partially covering his eyes. Julius was also wet, but not as wet as Sean was. As it turned out, Brooke showed the team a particularly useful charm to keep them dry while they practiced. However, it wore off by the time Julius got changed, so he had to sprint from the Quidditch pitch to the castle in the pouring rain. He also noted that Brooke hadn't used the charm for herself, and Sean told him that she did love the rain as much as he did.

"She is not brainwashing me," Sean denied, as he speared a piece of his baked potato. "Why and how would she even do that?"

"She doesn't have any friends but — well, you. And she figures if she can get you to like her more than me, than she'll have you all to herself. Soon, you may not even _want_ to be friends with me." Julius frowned at the thought.

"Why would she want that?"

"Who knows?" said Julius. "She's a girl. Maybe she likes you."

"Oh, come on, Julius," scoffed Sean, grabbing for a roll. "Even if she did, I don't like her like that. I don't like _any_ girls like that. I'm freaking eleven. Brooke says I shouldn't even bother with girls for a few years, anyway. Makes life a lot less complicated. Plus, she says that it's way easier when you actually have some money to spend."

"True, I guess. But still. My cousin said he had his first girlfriend here in his first year."

"Said? Also, who is this cousin of yours, anyway?" remarked Sean, rolling his eyes. "I've never even met him."

"Er, he's a sixth year. In Hufflepuff. He tells me we shouldn't hang out when we're at Hogwarts. Or talk. Or socialize in any manner . . . I'm starting to get the impression that he finds me annoying, to be honest." Julius scanned the Hufflepuff table to point him out but couldn't locate him.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna stay friends with Alysia. Just lighten up, all right? We've still got, like, seven months and two Quidditch matches left in the year. We haven't even got to Thanksgiving yet."

"At least there's only two matches left. And what's Thanksgiving?"

"Thanksgiving?" Sean paused, a skeptical look on his face. Then, realization hit him. "Oh, right . . . Anglo-Australian. Not the same. Well, we're even farther from Christmas, you know. Thanksgiving would be next Thursday, though. So, er, not that far away, actually."

Sean's mumblings left Julius confused. "Whatever. Crazy American."

Thursday that week — not the Thanksgiving Thursday, the one before that, as Sean had to explain to Alysia that day — was the first time Sean and Julius had their planned History of Magic. Meaning Julius snored the entire time (Professor Binns didn't even notice, let alone look up), while Sean took two parchments' worth of notes. He didn't mind too badly, even if he did have to shorthand the notes a bit to do so.

It was a day Sean felt like sleeping, too. There was a light drizzle outside, just like there had been for three straight days now, and apparently, it affected everyone else the same way. Sean was the only person in the back half of the class that even appeared to be paying attention at all to the lecture.

While Julius slept on, Professor Binns droned on, in the most monotonous voice Sean decided was humanly (or ghostly, rather) possible. It was so monotonous that Sean could swear he had heard the professor talk about this subject before.

"One of the biggest wizard supporters of the goblins' rights during the Middle Ages was the famous Merlin. He, despite the popular views of the day, said that goblins had just as much right to carry wands as wizards do, considering their ability to think on the same level as wizards. But, popularly, he was defeated, as most took the side of Merlin's rival, Morgan LeFay, as she was widely against anyone that wasn't humanly magical. In time, both of them disappeared from public view, and vanished from the discussion and society, leading on toward new political leaders on either side. Eventually, both sides . . ."

Sean spaced out for a moment. His hand was getting tired, and, honestly, he was feeling pretty tired himself. The idea of laying his head down on the desk was really beginning to become inviting. His eyes drooped closed for a second, but he quickly shook himself back to full awareness, and continued taking notes. He wouldn't exactly be helping Julius if he fell asleep too. Yawning, he wrote down the dates Professor Binns was listing for the major battles and debates that happened during the twelfth century.

Even if he did like it, History of Magic could really get to be a bore after a while. Now he'd have to make it through the rest of the year like this. Even if Julius had it harder, being on the Quidditch team, he wasn't the one taking two different copies of notes every Thursday from now on.

The young woman named Sofia was indeed somewhere she should not have been at the moment. Her short frame was generally rather unnoticeable, and the cloud-covered sky and the pattering rain helped covered both her movements and noises, allowing for her to move unnoticed.

Sneaking along the darkness, she looked one way, and then the other, making sure the corridor was empty. Slipping out into the light of a window, she pulled out the two-way mirror that she had been given to use for these situations. "Tallinn? Are you there?"

"Yes, of course I'm here!" she snapped back. Her image was reflected in the mirror as if it were Sofia's own. "I've been waiting for nearly half an hour now."

"I'm sorry," hissed Sofia. "I would have been here sooner, but that fat man Slughorn was in the hallway talking with the caretaker. I had to hide out in a classroom until they both left."

"Never mind that now. Have you infiltrated the supply closet yet?"

Sofia had been slowly moving along the corridors as she talked, and had reached the closet in question. She had tried using magic to unlock it, but it was protected better than that. _All this for stupid Advanced Potions supplies?_ Sofia thought, as the lock clicked open. As it turned out the Muggle lock pick was quite a useful trick to learn. She stuck the hairpin she had used back into her pocket and opened the door, wincing as it creaked. The woman took a hesitant look around, and then peered into the closet, trying to see if her object was there. The labels were miniscule, so she had to take several of the bottles off the shelves just to read them.

_Essence of Dittany._That was a healing fluid. She somehow remembered this from her days at Hogwarts, even if Potions had been one of her weaker classes. _Paolini's Potion. Grody's Potion. Batson's Potion. These are all so . . . uncreative, _Sofia couldn't help but think to herself.

"This isn't working," she muttered, shaking her head. Pulling out her wand, she said, "_Accio Essence of Voigt!"_she murmured, and almost dropped the vial as it came zooming out to her from the back. "Got it!" she whispered to the mirror.

"You better have!" hissed Tallinn. "Bring it to me _safely!_ We can't have another incidence like that one last year in Marseilles."

"Yes, ma'am." Slowly, she closed the door, hearing the lock reset as it shut, and quickly backed up the way she had come. The door had squeaked as it shut, just as it had when it opened. If anyone had heard that —

_"Mrow!"_

Sofia froze and turned around, finding herself looking into the yellow eyes of a dark cat. It looked at her and hissed. Sofia immediately turned and ran, trying to be as swift and silent as possible. She couldn't tell if the cat was following her, but if she guessed correctly, it would alert someone of her presence. She had to get out, and fast.

Sofia turned a corner and found herself facing the window she'd come in through. Now she only had to get out, and she'd be free.

Almost there, just another ten seconds, and —

"Hey!" Someone stepped out into her path, with their wand raised. "Hey, what are you doing?"

A man — no, a boy. A prefect, by the look of it. She almost laughed as she pulled her wand back out and silently shot a stunning spell his way. The blast of red light hit him, and the boy dropped to the floor. As she stopped at the window, she looked out at the night. A full moon. And then she looked at the boy sprawled on the floor. He would no doubt come around in a few minutes. _Cute_, thought Sofia, as she reached out the window to grab her rope . . . her rope that wasn't there anymore! What had he done! Or whoever had done this — the rope was her easy way out. Now —

"Stop right there!" shouted a raspy voice. She heard footsteps heading her way, though Sofia noticed that the man was wheezing heavily, and slightly limping. But he was soon joined by another man, taller and younger, that was approaching fast. The taller man prepared to throw a Jinx her way, and almost got her, too.

Rather than being caught, the agile Sofia simply leaped out of the window and into the night.


End file.
